Reveal your unknown online life in North Korea

Introduction: On the afternoon of 22nd, the Internet in North Korea began to be very unstable, and it was basically in a state of "unable to connect with the Internet". On the morning of 23rd, the Internet basically recovered. This has led the outside world to speculate whether North Korea's internet disconnection is a retaliatory action taken by the United States because of the hacking of Sony Pictures. This network disconnection incident has aroused the concern of the outside world about the level of North Korea's Internet construction. Global Times reporters tried to piece together the general situation of North Korea's network development through various fragmented information.

Only core institutions and personnel can access the Internet

At present, the popularity of Internet popularization in North Korea is not high, and it is generally used by relatively core institutions and personnel. North Korea has never disclosed relevant information about domestic Internet infrastructure and operation, which are core secret information. CNN reported on the 22nd that there are only 1,24 known IP addresses in North Korea. By contrast, the United States has 1.5 billion IP addresses. It is worth noting that not every IP address is specific to only one computer. Therefore, North Korea may have thousands of devices connected to the Internet. CNN quoted data from companies that monitor Internet traffic as saying that the Internet traffic in North Korea is only equivalent to the traffic of 1, high-speed Internet households in the United States.

North Korean soldiers surf the Internet

The American newspaper * * * pointed out that the Internet protocol address of North Korea was provided by a state-owned Internet service provider named Star J.V.C, and most communication lines had to pass through the network of China operators. There are also foreign media reports that North Korea mainly accesses the global Internet through land lines bordering China or satellite lines of Russian satellite communication companies. In this regard, China cyber security expert Tan Xiaosheng told the Global Times reporter on 23rd that it is possible and normal for North Korea to access the Internet through an operator in China. From a technical point of view, the Internet is connected by the interconnection of several operators. Operators such as China Unicom and China Mobile in China also need to connect with operators in the United States to enable users in China to use the Internet. By the same token, if North Korea wants to access the Internet, it must connect with the outside world through some medium, for example, its optical fiber must be connected with the outside world. Of course, the access method is just like transferring to a plane. You can fly from North Korea to Beijing and then transfer to the United States, or you can fly to Russia and then transfer to the United States. However, Tan Xiaosheng stressed that even if North China uses the network of Korean operators, it is only equivalent to driving on the highway, and it is the driver's responsibility, not the highway operator's responsibility.

At present, Global Times reporters use North Korea's wired Internet in Pyongyang (Wifi is strictly prohibited in North Korea at present), and the monthly subscription fee is about 545 US dollars. The charging unit is North Korea Star Joint Venture Company, and the network speed is 2M in theory, which can basically meet the needs of work, and there is no problem with video chat. In addition to wired Internet, foreigners in North Korea can also surf the Internet through mobile phones. The Associated Press reported on the 23rd that an Egyptian company built a 3G network in North Korea five years ago, and now it has covered most major cities. In 213, North Korea began to allow foreigners to access the Internet through 3G networks. The monthly subscription fee for Global Times reporters' mobile Internet access is about $14, and 5M traffic is provided free of charge every month. The charging unit is Koryolink Company of North Korea, and the excess is charged according to the standard of RMB per megabyte of 1 yuan.

A birthday message appeared on the bulletin board of North Korea's internal network

According to the reporter of Global Times in Pyongyang, foreigners and North Koreans use different networks in North Korea. Chinese people have their own network-"Guangming Net", which is a domestic local area network covering all provinces, cities and counties in the country, but it is not connected to the Internet. The content includes political, economic, scientific, cultural and other aspects of knowledge. North Korea completed the construction of the network as early as 2, and began to put it into use nationwide. Domestic users in North Korea can access the Internet through telephone lines only by going to the telephone branches to apply for access. The main function of North Korea's internal network is to let its citizens receive information from the official websites of North Korea. North Korean users can visit some official websites of North Korea, and North Koreans can also download relevant books and materials in this internal network. There is even a bulletin board with a prototype version of social media, which is used to provide information such as publishing songs to college students or giving birthday wishes to professors. Korean Central News Agency has previously reported that the optical fiber communication network that North Korea has built nationwide has expanded the information transmission capacity between the North Korean central government and various channels by hundreds of times; All telephone exchange methods have been digitized, thus expanding the automatic exchange capacity of telephones by nearly 2 times.

In the library of Jince Industrial University in Pyongyang, there are books with computer themes

According to Panorama News of South Korea, people's hospitals in nine provinces in North Korea have realized 1M optical fiber communication, which can send and receive audio and video information communication. The most famous Jin Wanyou Hospital in Pyongyang is connected with local hospitals such as North Pyongan People's Hospital and Wanjingtai area through optical fiber. Excellent medical experts in Pyongyang can use images and sounds transmitted by computers to treat and manage patients all over the country. This started a brand-new medical service system. In addition, North Korea has built the electronic library of Jin Ce University of Technology and the electronic library of Kim Il Sung University. Both libraries are connected to optical fiber communication networks and connected with terminals in various places.

A student learns how to drive a tractor on a computer-simulated instrument

However, where the technology of building an internal information superhighway in North Korea came from has always been a mystery. South Korea's "Pioneer Economy" said that building a high-speed communication network is a complex project. How did North Korea do it? According to the explanation of North Korea's official media, this is mainly due to the establishment of Pyongyang optical fiber communication cable factory and the transformation of the original communication machinery factory by the state using modern technology, so that they can mass produce exquisite and high-performance communication equipment and equipment.

the source of high-speed communication network technology is a mystery.