A couple of international broadcasting notes: The US govt added its VOA365 Persian language TV to several satellites in Europe over the weekend, likely as response to the Internet disruption. And Iran's Press TV, Hispan TV remain black on Galaxy 19 (US feed) after state TV was attacked on Sunday.
If you're interested in North Korea, sign up for my free newsletter on North Korean technology trends. The new edition goes out later today. (You don't need a Substack account to subscribe) substack.com/@nktechlab
North Korean TV didn't carry any live coverage of New Year's Eve in Pyongyang. As it did last year, it ended 2025 with a photo compilation of Kim Jong Un's work and a new year message. The NYE event has gotten bigger in recent years and is now edited and broadcast on Jan 1. I expect the same today.
Here's a vehicle I didn't expect to see on the roads of North Korea. State TV on its way to cover some factory openings in a 1990s-era GMC Vandura.
North Koreans now have access to a 20-channel IPTV service. The subscription service is an evolution of the "Manbang" service that began almost a decade ago: www.nktechlab.org/north-koreas...
Much of Radio Free Asia's broadcast equipment appears up for auction. This will make it even harder for anything to resume should it be desired or necessary. rasmus.com/auctions/gal...
Two North Korean escapees recently told us what radio and TV broadcasts from overseas meant to them before they escaped, and before the US and South Korean governments recently shut them down. They have powerful words. www.nktechlab.org/the-importan...
E-payments are becoming more popular in the DPRK due to the spread of smartphones, state pressures, and the app industry. @martynw.bsky.social analyzes the burgeoning industry.
This Wednesday, join me and others for an examination of major changes in information access for North Koreans this year.
If you haven't been following North Korea's drone program, here's where they are and how they got there: www.38north.org/2025/09/curr...
Here's some video I shot of people working the fields in Rimhan-ri, North Korea, on Sunday afternoon.
Jaw-dropping story in the New York Times today, if you haven't seen it. North Korea had shown zero interest in talking to the US and this won't help. It probably also further Kim's suspicion that the US is really after regime change. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/05/u...
The Chosun Ilbo is using AI for translation, so we get this piece on a September 3 meeting that quotes a remarkably forward-looking report on the event that was published on .... July 3. I get that AI can help, but surely someone should be proofreading the output? www.chosun.com/english/worl...
Kim Jong Un was second-to-last to be greeted by Xi, one ahead of Putin. Kim and Putin would have been next to each other as they waited in the receiving line. The two took the prime positions either side of Xi and his wife in the group photo shortly after.
Just In: Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin appear to share a discussion alongside Xi Jinping as they enter the viewing area for China's Victory Day parade. Kim and Putin were at the head of the group of foreign leaders.
Just In: Kim Jong Un arrives to attend China's Victory Day commemorations. He was one of a string of foreign dignitaries that arrived Wednesday morning ahead of a military parade.
We noticed something interesting about North Korea's new warships. State media video has been limited and in all the satellite images we have, they are moored or being moved by tugs. They might not have working propulsion systems, despite launches in April and June. www.38north.org/2025/08/quic...
For the first time, North Korean state TV has shown its soldiers battling inside Ukraine. This came the same day it televised a ceremony where Kim Jong Un honored over 100 soldiers who were killed in the fighting.
These posters covered by the Washington Post today: How a thrown sub made ‘Sandwich Guy’ a resistance icon in Trump’s D.C.
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
North Koreans enjoying a day at the seaside. We saw these colored dots and zoomed in a little. It's not just the new fancy beach resort where people are enjoying the sea this August. www.38north.org/2025/08/quic...
Kim Jong Un visited his new destroyer (the one that didn't fall over) in Nampho on Monday. Unfortunately, North Korean state media blurred out the good bits. We still haven't seen this ship move away from the dock since it was pushed there by tug shortly after launch in late April.
This article, which quotes my work, fundamentally misunderstands it. Government broadcasts have been cut, not religious ones. The "veteran correspondent" would know that if he bothered to reach out to me. He all doesn't understand how Korean names work. www.foxnews.com/world/south-...
The same panels that had anti-Elon posters are now immortalizing the throwing of sandwiches. I'm presuming a reference to the guy who threw his Subway sandwich at a CBP agent.
Follow my new project, NK TechLab, for updates on technology as it relates to North Korea. Our latest was a listening check today on the current jamming situation after a busy month of change:
A M8.0 earthquake off the Russian Far East has sparked a tsunami warning in Japan of up to 3m. Live: www.youtube.com/watch?v=nju7... , www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmDJ... , www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRoi...
80 years ago today, the BBC Light Programme launched entertainment and music on 200kHz longwave (now used by Radio 4 on 198kHz). It lasted until 1967 when it Radio 1 and Radio 2 began. Here's Radio Times announcing the program and the first day's schedule. (more: genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/page/aa8883a...)
The seaport at North Korea's Sohae Satellite Launch Center is shaping up. It looks like a crane will be added for shifting cargo between ship and land, but what cargo and why? Some answers and questions: www.38north.org/2025/07/quic...
Kim Yo Jong firmly rejects denuclearization as a basis for any talks with US: "We do not want to give any meaning to the U.S. side's unilateral assessment of the past DPRK-U.S. dialogue. It is worth taking into account the fact that the year 2025 is neither 2018 nor 2019." kcna.kp/en/article/q...
Russia's Nordwind inaugurated its new, monthly flight from Moscow to Pyongyang overnight. The Boeing 777-200ER appears to be parked at Pyongyang Sunan Airport and will return on Tuesday, according to the schedule. Japan's Kyodo News has video of the aircraft arrival: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGxF...
