ID :
61923
Fri, 05/22/2009 - 17:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/61923
The shortlink copeid
N. Korea says it has developed Web site for mobile phones
By Tony Chang
SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has developed a mobile version of a
government Web site to distribute news and other content over wireless phones
following the reported launch of a third-generation (3G) wireless communications
network there, a state-run Web site said Friday.
Uriminzokkiri, an official Web site run by North Korea, said that "Ryomyong," a
separate site run by the National Reconciliation Council, has launched a "Web
page for mobile phones."
The mobile site carries major news from the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) and
other content concerning major developments in the country, it said, without
disclosing the Web address or whether it was accessible domestically or abroad.
Details on how to access the Web site through wireless phones were also not
provided.
North Korea reportedly introduced a 3G mobile phone network in a joint effort
with Cairo-based Orascom Telecom in December. That marked the first time that
North Koreans were allowed to use mobile phones since a previous, short-lived
mobile service was shut down without explanation in 2004.
In light of the announcement, some experts in the South speculate that the Web
page in question may in fact be a recently opened Twitter account page found at
http://twitter.com/kcna_dprk.
The micro-blogging site, run by a U.S. venture start-up of the same name, is a
widely used platform by media outlets such as CNN to send out real-time news. It
can be accessed by smartphones such as Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerrys and
Apple Inc's iPhones.
"I think it is highly likely as it is very easy to open up a so-called 'Web
version' of any site rather than build up a separate one from scratch which often
costs money," an industry insider in Seoul said.
An official at the Unification Ministry confirmed that Web page links posted on
the Twitter account connected users to the corresponding story in KCNA's Web
page. All North Korean-run Web sites are blocked in the South and can only be
accessed through special government authorization.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, May 22 (Yonhap) -- North Korea has developed a mobile version of a
government Web site to distribute news and other content over wireless phones
following the reported launch of a third-generation (3G) wireless communications
network there, a state-run Web site said Friday.
Uriminzokkiri, an official Web site run by North Korea, said that "Ryomyong," a
separate site run by the National Reconciliation Council, has launched a "Web
page for mobile phones."
The mobile site carries major news from the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) and
other content concerning major developments in the country, it said, without
disclosing the Web address or whether it was accessible domestically or abroad.
Details on how to access the Web site through wireless phones were also not
provided.
North Korea reportedly introduced a 3G mobile phone network in a joint effort
with Cairo-based Orascom Telecom in December. That marked the first time that
North Koreans were allowed to use mobile phones since a previous, short-lived
mobile service was shut down without explanation in 2004.
In light of the announcement, some experts in the South speculate that the Web
page in question may in fact be a recently opened Twitter account page found at
http://twitter.com/kcna_dprk.
The micro-blogging site, run by a U.S. venture start-up of the same name, is a
widely used platform by media outlets such as CNN to send out real-time news. It
can be accessed by smartphones such as Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerrys and
Apple Inc's iPhones.
"I think it is highly likely as it is very easy to open up a so-called 'Web
version' of any site rather than build up a separate one from scratch which often
costs money," an industry insider in Seoul said.
An official at the Unification Ministry confirmed that Web page links posted on
the Twitter account connected users to the corresponding story in KCNA's Web
page. All North Korean-run Web sites are blocked in the South and can only be
accessed through special government authorization.
odissy@yna.co.kr
(END)
