Telecommunications in North Korea refers to the communication services available inNorth Korea. North Korea has not fully adopted mainstream Internet technology due to some restrictions on foreign interventions.[1]
By 1970 automatic switching facilities were in use inPyongyang,Sinŭiju,Hamhŭng, andHyesan.
A few public telephone booths were beginning to appear in Pyongyang around 1990.[2]
In the mid-1990s, an automated exchange system based on an E-10A system produced byAlcatel joint-venture factories in China was installed in Pyongyang.
North Koreans announced in 1997 that automated switching had replaced manual switching in Pyongyang and 70 other locales.[3]
In November 2002, mobile phones were introduced to North Korea and by November 2003, 20,000 North Koreans had bought mobile phones.[4]
There was a ban on cell phones from 2004 to 2008.[5][6]
In December 2008, a new mobile phone service was launched in Pyongyang, operated by Egyptian companyOrascom, but the North Korean government immediately expropriated control of the enterprise and its earnings.[7]
In May 2010, more than 120,000 North Koreans owned mobile phones;[8] this number had increased to 301,000 by September 2010,[9] 660,000 by August 2011,[10] and 900,000 by December 2011.[11]
Orascom reported 432,000 North Korean subscribers after two years of operation (December 2010),[12] increasing to 809,000 by September 2011,[13] and exceeding one million by February 2012.[14] By April 2013 subscriber numbers neared two million.[15] By 2015 the figure had grown to three million.[16]
In 2011, 60% of Pyongyang's citizens between the age of 20 and 50 had a cellphone.[17] That year, StatCounter.com confirmed that some North Koreans use Apple's iPhones, as well as Nokia's and Samsung's smartphones.[18]
A survey in 2017 found that 69% of households had a mobile phone.[19]
In November 2020, no mobile phones could dial into or out of the country, and there was noInternet connection. A3G network covered 94 percent of the population, but only 14 percent of the territory.[20]
In 2024,38 North reported the number mobile phones models available had doubled since 2022, offering about 55 smartphone models generally with good mid-market specifications, some4G, with at least 10 companies supplying them to consumers.
One estimate placed the total number of television sets in use in the early 1990s at 250,000 sets.[2]
A study in 2017 found that 98% of households had a TV set.[19] In 1997 there were 3.36 million radio sets.
A survey in 2017 found that 19% of households had a computer, but that only 1% nationally and 5% in Pyongyang had access to the intranet.[19] In 2018, it was estimated that 18-20% of the population had mobile phones with access to the intranet.[21]
Before the fiber connection, international Internet access was limited to government-approved dial-up over land lines to China.
In 2003 a joint venture between businessman Jan Holterman inBerlin and the North Korean government calledKCC Europe brought the commercial Internet to North Korea.
The connection was established through anIntelsat satellite link from North Korea to servers located in Germany. This link ended the need to dial ISPs in China.[22]
In 2009Internet service provider Star Joint Venture Co., a joint venture between the North Korean government'sPost and Telecommunications Corporation and Thailand-basedLoxley Pacific, took control of North Korea's Internet and address allocation.[23] The satellite link was phased out in favour of the fiber connection and is currently only used as a backup line.[24]
North Korea has an adequatetelephone system, with 1.18 million fixed lines available in 2008.[25] However, most phones are only installed for senior government officials.
Someone wanting a phone installed must fill out a form indicating their rank, why they want a phone, and how they will pay for it.[26]
Most of these are installed in government offices, collective farms, and state-owned enterprises (SOEs), with only perhaps 10 percent controlled by individuals or households.
North Korean press reported in 2000 that fiber-optic cable had been extended to the port ofNampho and thatNorth Pyong'an Province had been connected with fiber-optic cable.
The official name of the 3G mobile phone service in North Korea is calledKoryolink.
It is now effectively under the control of the state-ownedKorea Post and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC).[27] There has been a large demand for the service since it was launched.[28]
North Korean mobile phones use adigital signature system to prevent access to unsanctioned files, and log usage information that can be physically inspected.[29]
Smartphone apps such asmapping and navigation app Fellow Traveler are available.[30]
Although state-run media reports that the phones were developed by North Korean outlets, they are likely sourced rather from a ChineseOEM and outfitted with North Korean software.[31]
Some of the functionality was limited in line with state control measures by a localized version ofAndroid. None of the smartphones were domestically manufactured.
In a country of about 24 million people there are an estimated 6.5-7 million mobile subscriptions, with use of digital payment apps popular.[32]
Koryolink has no international roaming agreements. Pre-paid SIM cards can be purchased by visitors to North Korea to make international (but not domestic) calls.
Prior to January 2013, foreigners had to surrender their phones at the border crossing or airport before entering the country, but with the availability of local SIM cards this policy is no longer in place.[33] Internet access, however, is only available to resident foreigners and not tourists.[34]
Broadcasting in North Korea is tightly controlled by the state and is used as a propaganda arm of the rulingKorean Workers' Party.
TheKorean Central Television station is located in Pyongyang, and there are also stations in major cities, includingChŏngjin,Hamhŭng,Haeju,Kaesŏng,Sinŭiju,Wŏnsan. There are four channels in Pyongyang but only one channel in other cities.
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.
Visitors are not allowed to bring a radio.
As part of the government's information blockade policy, North Korean radios and televisions must be modified to receive only government stations.
When buying a TV set or a radio, North Korean citizens are required to register it with the state within 10 days. The apparatus also has to be inspected if this was not already done prior to sale.[35] According toAmnesty International, there exist "strict restrictions" on the types of radios and other appliances households can own.[36]
North Korea has twoAM radio broadcasting networks,Pyongyang Broadcasting Station [ko] (Voice of Korea) and Korean Central Broadcasting Station, and oneFM network,Pyongyang FM Broadcasting Station [ko].
All three networks have stations in major cities that offer local programming. There is also a powerful shortwave transmitter for overseas broadcasts in several languages.[2]
The official government station is theKorean Central Broadcasting Station (KCBS), which broadcasts inKorean.
Kwangmyong is a North Korean "walled garden"national intranet[37] opened in 2000.
It is accessible from within North Korea's major cities, counties, as well as universities and major industrial and commercial organizations, with 24-hour unlimited access by dial-up telephone line and by 3G and 4G mobile network.
In August 2016, it was reported that North Korea had launched "Manbang" (meaning "everyone"), a state-approved video streaming service which has been likened to Netflix,[38] to stream live TV, on-demand video and newspaper articles (from the state newspaperRodong Sinmun) over the intranet.[39]
The service is only available to citizens inPyongyang,Siniju andSariwon. The state TV channelKorean Central Television (KCTV) described the service as a "respite from radio interference".[40]
In 2018, North Korea unveiled a newWi-Fi service calledMirae ("Future"), which allowed mobile devices to access the intranet network in Pyongyang.[41]
During theCOVID-19 pandemic theRakwonvideo conferencing system, developed atKim Il-sung University, became popular for remote meetings, and appeared regularly on news bulletins.Telemedicine and remote education systems have been developed.[42]
North Korea's main connection to the international Internet is through a fiber-optic cable connectingPyongyang withDandong, China, crossing theChina–North Korea border atSinuiju. Internet access is provided byChina Unicom.
In 2007 North Korea successfully applied atICANN for the.kpcountry codetop-level domain (ccTLD).[43] KCC Europe administered the domain fromBerlin, and also hosted a large number of websites.
In October 2017 a large scale DDoS attack on the main China connection led to a second Internet connection taken into service.[44]
This connects North Korea through a fiber optic cable withVladivostok, crossing theRussia-North Korea border atTumangang. Internet access is provided byTransTelekom, a subsidiary of Russian national railway operatorRussian Railways.[45]
Since February 2013, foreigners have been able to access the internet using the3G phone network.[46][47][48]
In December 2023, North Korea started to deploy a4G network using second-hand 4G networking equipment fromHuawei.[49][50][51][52]
"A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment", a study commissioned by the U.S. State Department and conducted by Intermedia and released May 10, 2012 shows that despite extremely strict regulations and draconian penalties North Koreans, particularly elite elements, have increasing access to news and other media outside the state-controlled media authorized by the government.
While access to the Internet is tightly controlled, radio and DVDs are common media accessed, and in border areas, television.[53][54]
As of 2011,USB flash drives were selling well in North Korea, primarily used for watching South Korean dramas and films on personal computers.[55]
North Korea's firstInternet café opened in 2002 as a joint venture with South Korean Internet company Hoonnet. It is connected via a land line to China.
Foreign visitors can link their computers to the Internet through international phone lines available in a few hotels in Pyongyang.
In 2005 a new Internet café opened in Pyongyang, connected not through China, but through the North Korean satellite link. Content is most likely filtered by North Korean government agencies.[56][57]
North Korea joined theUniversal Postal Union in 1974 but has direct postal arrangements with only a select group of countries.[2] The national postal operator is theNorth Korean postal service.
North Korea has had a varying number of connections to other nations. Currently, international fixed line connections consist of a network connectingPyongyang toBeijing andMoscow, andChongjin toVladivostok.
Communications were opened with South Korea in 2000. In May 2006 TransTeleCom Company and North Korea's Ministry of Communications have signed an agreement for the construction and joint operation of a fiber-optic transmission line in the section of theKhasan–Tumangang railway checkpoint in theNorth Korea-Russia border. This is the first direct land link between Russia and North Korea.
TTC's partner in the design, construction, and connection of the communication line from the Korean side to the junction was Korea Communication Company of North Korea's Ministry of Communications.
The technology transfer was built aroundSTM-1 level digital equipment with the possibility of further increasing bandwidth. The construction was completed in 2007.[58]
Since joiningIntersputnik in 1984, North Korea has operated 22 lines offrequency-division multiplexing and 10 lines of single channel per carrier for communication with Eastern Europe.[59] and in late 1989 international direct dialing service throughmicrowave link was introduced fromHong Kong.
Asatellite ground station near Pyongyang provides direct international communications using the International Telecommunications Satellite Corporation (Intelsat) Indian Ocean satellite.
A satellite communications center was installed in Pyongyang in 1986 with French technical support. An agreement to share in Japan's telecommunications satellites was reached in 1990.
Following the agreement withUNDP, the Pyongyang Fiber Optic Cable Factory was built in April 1992 and the country's firstoptical fiber cable network consisting of 480pulse-code modulation (PCM) lines and 6 automatic exchange stations from PyongyangtoHamhung (300 kilometers or 190 miles) was installed in September 1995.[60]
Moreover, the nationwide land leveling and rezoning campaign initiated byKim Jong-il inKangwon province in May 1998[61] and in North Pyongan province in January 2000[62] facilitated the construction of provincial and county fiber optic lines, which were laid by tens of thousands ofKorean People's Army (KPA) soldier-builders and provincial shock brigade members mobilized for the large-scale public works projects designed to rehabilitate the hundreds of thousands of hectares of arable lands devastated by the natural disasters in the late 1990s.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. Savada, Andreas Matles, ed. (1994). "North Korea: A Country Study".Country Studies.Federal Research Division. Retrieved27 July 2013.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Fourth ed. Washington: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress.ISBN 0-8444-0794-1.The primary focus of the study was on the ability of North Koreans to access outside information from foreign sources through a variety of media, communication technologies and personal sources. The relationship between information exposure on North Koreans' perceptions of the outside world and their own country was also analyzed.
