North Korea Opens .kp Sites On the Internet
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eldavojohn writes "What an auspicious day for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea! To commemorate the 65th anniversary of the founding of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, North Korea will no longer depend on Chinese national internet service to reach the outside world — they have their own connection and are hosting sites like the state run media. The article mentions that about a thousand websites are coming online, including services like Skype and Twitter. From where I sit in the United States, I can't seem to get any .kp TLD sites to resolve, but the news is promising if in fact it will bring more information to the information-starved masses of North Korea."
Information-starved masses won't see the internet (Score:3, Insightful)
I doubt they even have TVs or radios. I bet it's not even legal for them to either.
I seriously doubt... (Score:5, Insightful)
...that the average North Korean even has a computer to access the internet with.
Re:I seriously doubt... (Score:5, Insightful)
True... but this means we can send as much spam, 911-mails and virusbombs as we like to North Korea, without hurting innocent bystanders :)
It's sort of like painting a big red target on any spot housing party officials, except only visible in the virtual world. And if they went with 3G or mobifi or something, it would be visible in the real world as well.
Re:Information-starved masses won't see the intern (Score:5, Insightful)
I doubt you'll actually bother looking up info on TV/radio ownership in North Korea. I bet your random guessing and stabbing in the dark will get +5 Insightful.
On a tangential ramble, Kim Jong-Il's Comedy Club [bbc.co.uk] was a very interesting documentry, and a rare glimse inside the weider-than-fiction world of North Korea.
Cheerleading a transparent move on part of NK (Score:3, Insightful)
Even if it does indicate more internal dissemination of information, more information isn't always good, if it's more of the same disinformation.
What an unfortunate domain (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:Hooray! (Score:5, Insightful)
More information (Score:5, Insightful)
I tried to read that aloud with a straight face but failed miserably.
Re:Yay! (Score:5, Insightful)
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea isn't the best Korea; it's the only Korea, you Capitalist Roadster.
Completely Embrace the Forward Thinking Progress of the People's Informational Movement!! Let The Empowered Voices Of The People Be Audible Across The Web!!* Down With The Internet Imperialists!
*Offer void where in opposition to the rule of the Kim family and the Korean People's Army.
Re:And now for the real world (Score:4, Insightful)
Japan is not wel liked in the region. Something about being a nation riddled with war crimes and never making attonement for it might have something to do with it.
Japan has both apologized and pay reparations numerous times. What more do you want them to do? Resurrect the dead?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_war_apology_statements_issued_by_Japan
Re:Information-starved masses won't see the intern (Score:2, Insightful)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSrcLC6Zz54 [youtube.com]
(Skip to ~1:40 to see them talking about a state radio in every kitchen that can't be turned off)
From a faulty premise, any conclusion may follow (Score:2, Insightful)
"...but the news is promising if in fact it will bring more information to the information-starved masses of North Korea".
I don't see why the existence of ".kp" domains will bring more information to the folks in North Korea, any more than the words
"Democratic People's Republic" in the country's official name would make it owned by the people, democratic, or a republic.
Labels have power, sure, but not always the way one hopes.
Not that simple. (Score:4, Insightful)
The story is much more complicated than that; you're being selective with the facts here. There are a few issues about Japan's attitudes towards its past that still bother the heck out of a lot of people:
The trend is pretty clear: there is a significant conservative segment of the Japanese population whose attitudes just piss off the rest of the region, and there are many politicians who pander to them.
Re:uk tv detector vans are real?? (Score:3, Insightful)
However the principle by which they are working is very real. And in North Korea, there is (supposed to be) silence on all frequencies except the government approved ones, therefore any activity there whatsoever would be a lot easier to pickup.