Internet in North Korea

Internet access is available in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), but only permitted with special authorization and primarily used for government purposes and by foreigners. The country has some broadband infrastructure, including fiber optic links between major institutions. However, online services for most individuals and institutions are provided through a free domestic-only network known as Kwangmyong, with access to the global Internet limited to a much smaller group.

There is one ISP providing Internet connection in North Korea: Star Joint Venture Co., a joint venture between the North Korean government's Post and Telecommunications Corporation and Thailand-based Loxley Pacific. Star JV took control of North Korea's Internet address allocation on December 21, 2009. Prior to Star JV, Internet access was available only via a satellite link to Germany, or for some government uses through direct connections with China Unicom. Nearly all of North Korea's Internet traffic is routed through China.

Since February 2013, foreigners have been able to access the internet using the 3G phone network provided by Koryolink.

Permission to access the Internet remains very tightly restricted; however, there has been a growing IT industry and gradually increasing access of the Internet within North Korea. In October 2010, the website of the Korean Central News Agency went live from a web server hosted in North Korea and accessible globally on a North Korean IP address, marking the country's first known direct connection to the Internet. Around the same time, on 9 October, journalists visiting Pyongyang for the Workers' Party's 65th anniversary celebrations were given access to a press room with full Internet connectivity. As of December 2014^[update], there are officially 1,024 internet protocol addresses in North Korea, though The New York Times journalists David E. Sanger and Nicole Perlroth believe that the actual number may be higher. The total amount of internet users is estimated at no more than a few thousand. The ones who can access the Internet without limits are claimed to be high-ranking officials, members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and government ambassadors.Kim Jong-il was said to have loved "surfing the net". According to Ofer Gayer, a security researcher of Incapsula, the country's total web traffic footprint has been less than that of the Falkland Islands. According to Joo Seong-ha, a The Dong-a Ilbo journalist and a North Korean defector, as of 2014, the government's intranet Kwangmyong has been used to limit the general public's global Internet usage, especially in hotels. Although available in most campuses, government has "strictly monitored the Internet usage." Many citizens of North Korea may be oblivious to the existence of the internet.

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