North Korea's Internet strategy and its political implications

Bibliographic Data

ID12206502
AuthorsCheng Chen (0000-0002-3583-9370, a University at Albany, State University of New York , USA, corresponding author), Kyungmin Ko (0000-0003-1037-2038, b Cheju National University , South Korea), Ji‐yong Lee (0000-0002-3858-0421, Korean Association for Public Security Administration), Ji-Yong Lee (0000-0002-6355-5391, c Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security (IFANS) , South Korea)
Year2010
Volume23
Issue5
Pages649-670
Publication date2010-11-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Pacific Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0951-2748 • E-ISSN: 1470-1332
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09512748.2010.522249
OpenAlexW2042550915
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited19

During recent years, the role of information technology in shaping politics and social movements in the digital age is drawing increasing scholarly attention. There is, however, little such literature on North Korea as the country remains almost completely cut off from the Internet. Since the mid-1990s, the DPRK government has strategically developed its information and communication technology and has subsequently built a domestic intranet. Although North Korea keeps a minimal presence on the web, there are signs that the country is taking small and cautious steps to allow some social elites to take advantage of the Internet in order to leapfrog its economic development. Indeed, a high-profile defector indicated that North Korea will most likely start allowing wider but limited internet access in the near future. This paper examines North Korea's intranet and Internet policies and explores their political implications by drawing upon first-hand data from Korean sources and existing literature as well as by juxtaposing the North Korean case with other communist regimes such as China and Cuba in terms of their attempts to control and manipulate the Internet. It shows that the DPRK government is likely to learn from the Chinese and Cuban experiences and adopt a ‘Mosquito-Net’ model in controlling the Internet in an effort to attract foreign investment while keeping out information deemed threatening by the regime

Business · China · Communism · Economic growth · Economics · Government (linguistics · Intranet · Investment (military · Order (exchange · Political science · Politics · The Internet · World Wide Web · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Computer Science · Korean Peninsula Historical and Political Studies

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