12 posts and columns on North Korea

Resolutions for 2012 (Comic)

in Voices on December 30, 2011 at 2:30 pm PT

Here is the latest comic from our Joy of Tech friends at Geek Culture, Nitrozac and Snaggy. Joy of Tech appears three times a week in the Voices section of this site.
mind

News Byte

No, That's Not Really Someone Giving Birth on Google Street View

in Media on November 24, 2010 at 5:51 am PT

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and it could easily be a slow news day (unless you’re interested in armed conflict between North and South Korea). So: Yes, that photo of someone giving birth on a German street, supposedly captured by Google’s roving Street View camera, isn’t real. Just ask Google.

Rise of the Online Autocrats

in News on October 4, 2010 at 12:16 am PT

The tweets started arriving in August, and they did not mince words. One of the first accused the South Korean government of being “a prostitute of the United States.”

News Byte

Facebook Deletes Two Purported North Korean Accounts

in News on August 24, 2010 at 10:15 am PT

Facebook (along with Twitter and YouTube) is officially banned in North Korea, and as such, Facebook spokeswoman Kumiko Hidaka cited the social network’s term of service regarding the deletion of two accounts purported to originate from there. “If a person poses as a person or entity that you don’t officially represent, that becomes a violation of our policy.” For its part, in response to this and other recent speculation that it has been utilizing social media for propaganda purposes, North Korea’s government assured Forbes’s Taylor Buley that it isn’t.

News Byte

North Korea Tries Viral Video Marketing; Old Spice Guy Unfazed

in News on August 10, 2010 at 11:06 am PT

North Korea is apparently stepping up its Internet propaganda game by posting videos on YouTube. According to AFP, 11 clips were found today under a YouTube account with the username uriminzokkiri. The clips praise the communist state and call its leader, Kim Jong Il, a “general sent from the heaven.” They also further the country’s propaganda offensive during a multinational investigation into its alleged March sinking of a South Korean warship.

News Byte

Justin Bieber and Li'l Kim?

in News on July 6, 2010 at 10:24 am PT

Hard to say who loves mop-top teen singer Justin Bieber more–squealing little girls or the prank-playing practitioners of cultural anarchy on the Web. Over the weekend, hackers took advantage of a YouTube vulnerability (since fixed) to redirect Bieber-page visitors to porn sites or pop up a message suggesting the lad had expired. Now the Web wags are in the process of stuffing the ballot box in a vote on where Beiber should bring his world tour. Israel was leading the contest until the viral assault; now, if the voters have their way, Bieber will take the stage in front of a baffled audience in North Korea. Justin Bieber and Kim Jong Il–now there’s a photo op.

Hong Kong Closes World Cup Loophole

in News on June 14, 2010 at 4:32 pm PT

For the first time, soccer fans in the U.S. can watch every single World Cup match. Such is the norm in Europe, and in mainland China. Football crazy Hong Kongers who live in buildings with satellite antennae might’ve tuned in to mainland China’s CCTV, but now that loophole is being sewn up. In Hong Kong, the subscription service i-Cable won the legal rights to show every match.

Viral Video: Clinton's Diplomacy in the Conan-Newark Mayor Feud

in News on October 12, 2009 at 7:15 am PT

It looks like Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will have her hands full with pretty dicey nuclear and terrorism issues in North Korea and Pakistan this week, but she managed to find time last week to try her diplomatic hand at working out the state of emergency between late-night television talk show host Conan O’Brien and Newark Mayor Cory Booker. Here are the videos.
cnew

From Space, All Eyes on North Korea

in News on April 9, 2009 at 11:28 am PT

While North Korea is largely inaccessible to the rest of the world, satellite images, particularly of its missile sites, have helped analysts keep close tabs on the country’s activities. Two satellite companies, GeoEye and DigitalGlobe, say that interest in Musudan-ri, a North Korean launch site, has been at a fever pitch in recent weeks.