North Korea's Kim Jong-un visits front line troops to pressure South Korea, U.S....

North Korea’s state media reported its leader Kim Jong-un had visited front line troops that were responsible for the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island in 2010. KCNA said Kim had ordered the troops to retaliate in the case South Korea shells North Korean waters ahead of the joint Key Resolve training South Korea and U.S. troops have scheduled in the western coast of the Korean Peninsula. The North Korean report said Kim Jong-un inspected the fourth battalions and received plans for retaliation during a visit to a watchhouse for coast-battery and even guided soldiers through battery training. The training was attended by soldiers who had taken part in the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the report said. North Korea said on Saturday through a spokesperson’s statement that it would launch a “sacred war” against the Key Resolve training.
(KBS World Radio, 2012-02-26)

DPRK radio disappears...

Several of North Korea’s external radio services and its powerful jamming operation that blocks foreign broadcasts are having trouble staying on the air.

Voice of Korea, the country’s international radio outlet, was missing from several of its scheduled broadcasts on Thursday, according to monitoring from sites in South Korea, Japan and the U.S.

Two days earlier its English-language broadcast to North America, scheduled from 1500-1554 GMT (1000-1054 Eastern Time) abruptly cut off around 20 minutes into the broadcast and didn’t return. On Thursday the French program left the air five minutes early while in the middle of a song.

All these events are highly unusual for the station, which is charged with spreading North Korean news and propaganda to a global audience.

The country’s jamming of overseas broadcasts, which involves the broadcast of noise over the top of a radio station to make it unintelligible to listeners in North Korea, has also been sporadic.




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North Korea Sends 1000 Technocrats to China...

A Japanese daily says North Korea has sent roughly one thousand technocrats to China under the North's new regime led by Kim Jong-un. Citing multiple North Korean and Chinese sources, the Tokyo Shimbun said North Korea sent the officials, including mid-level managers, to private firms and factories in northeastern and southeastern Chinese cities from late January. It is believed the officials were broken into small groups of ten members or less to tour companies and plants in major Chinese cities including Shenyang, Yanji, Dalian and Shanghai. They also apparently met with economy- and trade-related officials in China. The newspaper says North Korea could be eyeing these Chinese regions as a model for economic reform, and the North's new regime may be considering changes based on its findings.
(KBS World Radio, 2012-02-15)

Pyongyang satellite monitoring station...

In the northern Pyongyang suburb of Hyongjesan there are twelve large satellite dishes on a hillside. The dishes, easily visible in satellite photos, have been there for at least a decade and while their function is unknown, their close proximity to North Korea’s signals intelligence headquarters might be a clue to their purpose.

Some of the dishes have buildings next to them while others are surrounded by trees. Their exact size is difficult to determine, but most appear to be around 16- or 18-meters in diameter. That makes them large enough to receive signals from many satellites in orbit above Asia, but what are they being used for?

TV and telecommunications is thought to flow through the Pyongyang Earth Station, which is located in Sadong in the south of Pyongyang. It maintains North Korea’s links with the Intelsat and Intersputnik satellite systems. In the last few years there has also been significant expansion of the facilities at Pyongyang TV Tower, which went from just a handful of dishes in 2005 to currently more than 20.

Hyongjesan are the third large concentration of satellite dishes in Pyongyang.


TO BE CONTINUED...

North Korea prohibits use of firearm on escapees near chinese border...

A South Korean organization on North Korean human rights says North Korea has instructed its military to not use firearms on escapees. "Good Friends" said Wednesday that the North’s Workers’ Party of Korea apparently ordered its military to take steps so gun shots will not be heard along the North’s border with China. The statement was published in a magazine released by a North Korea research institute that is run by Good Friends. The organization said the recent move was apparently made in consideration of the North’s relations with China. Good Friends said the Workers’ Party instructed that while efforts should be made to boost vigilance along the North Korea-China border, firearms, which could negatively affect friendly ties between the two nations, should not be used. The Workers’ Party instead ordered the military to work together with China’s frontline units to catch North Korean escapees. Shortly after Kim Jong-il’s death late last year, the North reportedly permitted the shooting of people trying to escape the North as part of efforts to boost citizen supervision.
(KBS World Radio, 2012-02-09)

Kim Jong-un en visite officielle au commandement de la 324e unité...

Le nouveau dirigeant nord-coréen Kim Jong-un poursuit ses déplacements dans les bases militaires, comme le faisait de son vivant son père Kim Jong-il. Selon l’agence officielle du pays communiste, la KCNA, Kim vient de visiter le commandement de la 324e unité de l’armée. Il s’agit de son dixième déplacement du genre depuis le début de l’année. Il était accompagné du chef d’état-major interarmées, du ministre de la Défense ainsi que de plusieurs généraux. Cette unité se trouve à Hamheung, au sud-est du territoire nord-coréen. L'ancien leader Kim Jong-il s'y était lui aussi rendu en février 2009. Pour certains observateurs, si le nouveau leader nord-coréen continue à visiter les troupes d’élites, c’est pour asseoir son pouvoir au sein du régime, tout en mettant en garde Séoul.
(Radio Corée international, le 08-02-2012)

North Korea possibly developing unmanned drones...

North Korea is currently developing an unmanned fighter jet based on the United States' high speed target drone. According to a military source, North Korea is said to be developing the aircraft based on several MQM-107D drones it acquired from Middle Eastern countries, possibly including Libya. The drone, which is currently also in use by the U.S. and South Korea, is used for missile training. South Korean intelligence authorities have said North Korea has tried to accommodate the drones to carry missiles but does not yet have the technology. If North Korea succeeds in developing the drones, the drones are expected to be placed in Hwanghae Province to target the South's northwestern islands.
(KBS World Radio, 2012-02-05)

North Korea developing smartphone applications...

North Korea has been making its own applications for smartphones.

A video that appeared on the video-sharing Web site YouTube on January 29th entitled “North Korean Android System for Smartphones” introduced North Korea’s smartphone application technology, which has rarely been seen before.

In the video, a North Korean professor said the Android system is dominant in smartphones around the world and North Korea is currently developing ways to bring the smartphones to North Korea.

The Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency said the video had been presumably shot in North Korea during the 22nd nationwide exhibition for programming, which started on October 27th.
(KBS World Radio, 2012-02-04)

Plus d'un million d'utilisateurs de téléphones portables en Corée du Nord...

Plus d'un million de Nord-Coréens utiliseraient les services de téléphonie mobile auprès de l'opérateur égyptien Orascom, si l'on en croit l'agence de presse américaine Bloomberg qui cite la compagnie égyptienne. Malgré la main mise du régime communiste sur les informations circulant à l'intérieur et en dehors de ses frontières, le nombre d'utilisateurs de téléphones portables ne semble donc cesser d'augmenter. Par ailleurs, d'après la KCNA, l'agence centrale de presse officielle nord-coréenne, le patron d'Orascom, Naguib Sawiris, s'est entretenu hier avec Kim Yong-nam, président du comité permanent de l'Assemblée populaire suprême. La KCNA parle d'un « entretien amical » entre les deux hommes. C'est en 2002 que P'yongyang a introduit pour la première fois un service de téléphonie mobile, avant de le suspendre deux ans après plus tard. En 2008, Orascom y a lancé son activité, par le biais d'une joint-venture baptisée Koryolink.
(Radio Corée international, le 03-02-2012)

Un iPad 2 pour Kim Jong-un...

Selon des sources de la NHK, le nouveau dirigeant nord-coréen Kim Jong-un a commandé un iPad2 lors du lancement au printemps dernier de cette tablette numérique dont le succès fut instantanément planétaire. Le jeune dirigeant a passé plusieurs années pendant son adolescence en Suisse et il est réputé pour être un partisan de l'informatique afin de moderniser les industries de son pays. Le iPad2 connaît un sursaut de popularité à P'yongyang parmi les fils et les filles des hauts responsables gouvernementaux. Cette tablette numérique pourrait d'ici quelques temps être reliée à l'internet en Corée du Nord par l'intermédiaire d'une importante entreprise de téléphonie mobile fondée par une compagnie égyptienne de télécommunication. Le nombre d'usagers potentiels en Corée du Nord risque cependant d'être limité car le gouvernement pourrait s'inquiéter de la perte de contrôle social qui résulterait de l'usage de cette tablette.
(Radio Japon international, le 03-02-2012)

North Korean leader may meet Egypt's telecom...

North Korea's new leader Kim Jong Un could make his diplomatic debut by meeting the head of an Egyptian company that operates cell phone services in the country.

North Korea's state-run media said on Wednesday that the chairman of Orascom Telecom, Naguib Sawiris, arrived in Pyongyang this week and laid flowers at a mural of late leader Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung.

Orascom Telecom launched mobile network services in December of 2008 under strict North Korean control. The firm is also building towering hotels in Pyongyang.

Sawiris met Kim Jong Il and was welcomed with an official dinner banquet when he visited Pyongyang in January 2011. Kim Jong Un's guardian and uncle, Jang Song Thaek, was also at the banquet.
Following Kim's succession, the North's leadership is trying to show it can improve the lives of the country's citizens.

There is speculation that Kim Jong Un will meet with Sawiris in order to attract more foreign companies to invest in the country.
(Japan Broadcasting Corporation, 2012-02-02)