Telecommunications in North Korea
Photograph by Scripps Dayson Flickr.
In Telecommunications in North Korea order to buy a TV-set or a radio, Korean citizens should get special permission from the officials at places of their residence or employment. North Korea Political communications has two AM radio broadcasting networks, Pyongyang Broadcasting Station (Radio Pyongyang) and Korean Central Broadcasting Station, and one FM network, Pyongyang FM Broadcasting Station. A Telecommunications in North Korea satellite ground station near Pyongyang provides direct international communications using the International Telecommunications Satellite Corporation (Intelsat) Indian Ocean satellite.
On May 24, 2004 however, mobile phones were banned North Korea supposedly still has a mobile network in Pyongyang which is open for government officials only. There are Telecommunications in North Korea international connections via Moscow and Beijing, and in late 1989 international direct dialing service was introduced from Hong Kong.
Communications in North Korea refers to the communication services available in North Korea. By 1970 automatic switching facilities were in use in Pyongyang, Sinŭiju, Hamhŭng, and Hyesan. Content is most likely filtered by North Korean government agencies. KCC Europe is attempting to regulate the .kp country code top-level domain (ccTLD); as of 2008 its site (kcce.kp) and Naenara (naenara.kp) are the only known to be active in the .kp domain.
North Korea joined the Universal Postal Union in 1974 but has direct postal arrangements with only a select group of countries. According to the CIA World Factbook, the telephone system is inadequate and no telephone directories are available. A few public telephone booths were beginning to appear in Pyongyang around 1990.
Foreign visitors can link their computers to the Internet through international phone lines available in a few hotels in Pyongyang. Imported Japanese-made color televisions have a North Korean brand name superimposed, but nineteen-inch black-and-white sets have been produced locally since 1980.
In 2005 a new internet café opened in Pyongyang, connected not through China, but through the North Korean satellite link. It is connected via a line to China.
The removal of the official seal is punishable by law. An agreement to share in Japan s telecommunications satellites was reached in 1990.
These modified radios and televisions should be registered at special state department. A satellite communications center was installed in Pyongyang in 1986 with French technical support.
Its IP address resolves not to Asia but to servers at Internet Provider Berlin (ipberlin.com) in the German capital. Afghanistan · Armenia1 · Azerbaijan1 · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Bhutan · Brunei · Burma2 · Cambodia · People s Republic of China · Cyprus1 · East Timor3 · Egypt4 · Georgia4 · India · Indonesia · Iran · Iraq · Israel · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan4 · North Korea · South Korea · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Laos · Lebanon · Malaysia · Maldives · Mongolia · Nepal · Oman · Pakistan · Philippines · Qatar · Russia4 · Saudi Arabia · Singapore · Sri Lanka · Syria · Tajikistan · Republic of China5 · Thailand · Turkey4 · Turkmenistan · United Arab Emirates · Uzbekistan · Vietnam · Yemen Abkhazia1 · Nagorno-Karabakh · Northern Cyprus · Palestine · South Ossetia1 · Aceh · Adjara1 · Akrotiri and Dhekelia · Altai · British Indian Ocean Territory · Buryatia · Christmas Island · Cocos (Keeling) Islands · Guangxi · Hong Kong · Inner Mongolia · Iraqi Kurdistan · Khakassia · Macau · Nakhchivan · Ningxia · Papua · Sakha Republic · Tibet · Tuva · West Papua · Xinjiang · . There were 1.18 million telephone main lines in use in 2007. In November 2002, mobile phones were introduced to North Korea and by November 2003, 20,000 North Koreans had bought mobile phones.
All three networks have stations in major cities that offer local programming. Foreigners are not allowed to use (and also until recently to keep) mobile phones in North Korea although certain high profile visitors such as leadership from the New York Philharmonic which visited North Korea in February 2008, were given rental phones to facilitate direct international communications. In December 2008, a mobile phone service was launched in Pyongyang which would expand to all parts of the country.
There are three channels in Pyongyang but only one channel in other cities. It is being installed and run by the Egyptian company Orascom. Current subscriptions to mobile phones in the country are around 120,000. Broadcasting in North Korea is tightly controlled by the state and is used as a propaganda arm of the ruling Korean Workers Party.
They are also subject to inspection at random. There also is a powerful shortwave transmitter for overseas broadcasts in several languages. The official government station is the Korean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS), which broadcasts in Korean.
Ordinary citizens do not have private telephone lines. In 1997 there were 3.36 million radio sets. North Korea s first Internet café opened in 2002 as a joint venture with South Korean internet company Hoonnet.
The Korean Central Television station is located in Pyongyang, and there also are stations in major cities, including Chŏngjin, Kaesŏng, Hamhŭng, Haeju, and Sinŭiju.
