Category Archive: North Korea

Aug 19

North Korea on Facebook too?

The DPRK is just full of Web 2.0 surprises this month: First Youtube, then Twitter, and now it seems they have started a Facebook account as well. No word on how official this is yet, but all indications point to it being the Facebook page for the state-run Uriminzokkiri website. I got a chuckle out of the “Interested In: Men”.

Source: Free North Korea on Twitter (@freenorthkorea)

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Edit: It seems they (or someone else) closed their account and a new one started up… click here to visit the new one.

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/274

Aug 19

North breaks silence on Daesung issue

Yonhap News reports that the DPRK has finally spoken on the issue of the seized Daesung fishing craft. They announced that four South Korean and three Chinese fishermen have “confessed” to trespassing in waters claimed by the North. The fates and health of the captured men are unknown, but state-run KCNA news have stated that the issue is still under investigation.

Source: Yonhap News / The New York Times

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/272

Aug 18

North Korean MiG crashes in China

A North Korean MiG fighter jet crashed in China on Tuesday, roughly 150km north of the border. Though many details remain unclear, speculation is that the pilot was attempting to defect to Russia, was way off course, and ran out of fuel. The pilot died immediately. China is currently in communications with the DPRK about the incident. We are also unsure of whether the plane was a MiG 15, a Russian military relic used primarily for training, or the more combat-ready MiG 21 (though introduced in 1959 and retired by the Russians in ’90).

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/262

Aug 18

Are South Koreans in danger of punishment for following NK on Twitter?

South Korea’s National Security Law technically forbids corresponding or communicating with citizens from the North without prior consent from the Unification Ministry. Therefore, are hundreds of South Koreans in violation of law for following the newly created @uriminzok state-run Twitter account from the North? Technically, fines of up to $2500 USD can be assigned for violations, but it is doubtful anyone is in any danger of being fined. The Twitter account has exploded in popularity, reaching over 7500 followers from around the world in just a few days.

Source: The Korean Times

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/260

Aug 16

Official North Korean flash games

While written in Korean, most of these games are very playable, some dripping with propaganda. These are from the state-run “Uriminzokkiri” news website. The pages do not load properly in Chrome, but you can dive into the HTML source to get the direct links to the games. I’ve done that for you below. They seem to load fine in Firefox.

Catching Thieves – This puzzle game involves pushing gems over holes in the ground where Japanese and American heads pop out of.

Map of Korea Meeting – How’s your Korean geography? The shape of a province is shown, you must select from a list of 5 possible names and then locate it on the map.

Catching the enemy – Fire arrows, throw maces, throw swords. Doesn’t really matter which you pick. Click on the invaders before they throw stuff at you.

Taekwondo national pride – Funny little Taek-won-do fighting game. Use the arrow keys to perform various kicks and punches, A and D on the keyboard to move back and forth.

Ryeolchagil (?) Fit – In North America, we know this title as “Pipe Dream”. lay down railroad tracks of random direction until you can “unify” the train with the tunnel on the other side. Score more points for a “clean” design. Gets harder and you’re on a time limit. Fun!

“Spot the difference” (1) (2) (3) – You’re on a time limit and only get a few tries. Can you spot the differences in the side-by-side editorial cartoons?

Source: Uriminzokkiri (Korean)

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/250

Aug 16

“Unification Tax” in the works

South Korea’s Unification Ministry has been tasked with studying the feasibility of a “Unification Tax”. President Lee Myung-bak announced the possibility of the tax to help fund the potential massive bill that would be associated with the North government collapsing and the South responsible for cleanup.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/244

Aug 15

More propaganda for the outside world: @uriminzok on Twitter

As North Korea slowly enters the new century, they have now begun their own state-run Twitter page. This following the recent launch of the official Youtube page. While obviously written in Korean, you can often get the gist of the propaganda messages using a browser with auto-translate extensions like Chrome or Firefox. As of this writing, the page has received 300+ followers, while following none.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/237

Aug 13

News round-up…

Breaking news has been quiet from the DPRK. However, Time Magazine has an interesting writeup on the sinking of the Cheonan and the speculation surrounding it. Read it here.

While fairly old news, a lot of agencies have finally picked this story up: North Korea has made an appeal to the Czech Republic to have its cold war era debts erased, however the Czech government has stated that it demands full repayment, however trade goods are an option. NK offered to repay some of the debt with ginseng, renowned as being some of the world’s finest. The Czechs, however, would prefer zinc.

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

In another story that’s half “awwww…” and half “oh dear…”, a 13 year old boy from Mississippi (and of Korean descent) has a letter for Kim Jong-Il, and is heading to Pyongyang soon for a week long vacation with his parents. The letter contains his hopes that a “peace forest” can be planted on the DMZ where children from either side can play. A naive and optimistic view, for sure, but you must admire the teen’s education on such topics and the cruel senselessness of the war that divides the nations.

Source: Yahoo! News

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/234

Aug 10

North Korea’s Official Youtube

Obviously meant for the outside world, North Korea has recently launched their official Youtube channel. The videos are mostly in Korean. The channel takes its name from the state-run online newspaper, Uriminzokkiri. The newspaper has not been offered in English since December of 2007. Urimizokkiri appears to mean “By our nation itself”, a fitting summary of their Juche ideology.

Another interesting Youtube channel belongs to “rodrigorojo1“. He has many videos hosted of Korean Central Television (KCTV) footage, and updates daily. This gives you a better experience for what North Korean citizens get to watch on television.

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/226

Aug 09

Breaking: North Korea firing artillery into west coast

Details are sketchy at the moment, but it has been reported by the South’s Defense Ministry that North Korea has fired artillery shells into the sea. How much artillery, what they may have been firing at (if anything), and how close to disputed borders the firing occurred at has yet to be release.

Update: Yonhap News is reporting that 110 shells were fired, all on the North side of the Northern Limit Line of the Yellow Sea. It is still unclear whether they were firing at anything specific, or if this simply was a demonstration of force. The South’s Navy is on heightened alert.

Source: Associated Press via Google News / Yonhap News

Permanent link to this article: http://www.openingupnorthkorea.com/archives/222

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