How is North Korea's fiber optic network structured?
An expert on North Korean internet information examines the extent of North Korea's fiber optic network based on a small amount of information published in a presentation.
Hunting For North Korean Fiber Optic Cables | North Korean Internet
Nick, who runs the website North Korean Internet , which collects and publishes information about North Korea's internet, became interested in North Korea after watching a VICE documentary and continues to track North Korean news and online activity using open source intelligence.
Life Inside The Hermit Kingdom | VICE on HBO - YouTube
One slide that caught Nick's eye in recent weeks was a PowerPoint presentation submitted by North Korea to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) about the state of the country's aviation industry and the implementation of ADS-B . One of the slides depicted the existence of a fiber optic cable that appears to be running through North Korea.
The map shows a fiber optic cable connecting the capital, Pyongyang, and Odaejin, but Nick believes that this is not a direct connection because the area is sandwiched between mountainous terrain. There is no way to know what kind of fiber optic network is actually laid, but Nick has compiled various information to predict its full picture.
Historical information indicates that North Korea's first fiber optic cable connected Pyongyang with Hamhung, a city on the Sea of Japan coast, in September 1995. A cable was then laid in February 1998 connecting Pyongyang with Sinuiju, a town on the Chinese border. By 2000, cables had been laid between Pyongyang and Nampo, Hamhung and Rajin-Songpa, and Rajin-Songpa and Hunchun (China).
Then, in October 2017, it was discovered that TransTeleCom, a Russian telecommunications company that operates one of the world's largest fiber optic cable networks, had connected Russia and North Korea with a new cable.
Russia Provides New Internet Connection to North Korea - 38 North: Informed Analysis of North Korea
The map on the TransTeleCom official website also shows a cable stretching toward the North Korean border. This cable crosses the border via the Korea-Russia Friendship Bridge, a railway bridge over the Tumen River.
While the state of North Korea's internet is unclear from the outside, all ministries are reportedly connected to the domestic intranet 'Kwangmyeong' via fiber optics. 38 North, a news website about North Korea, has published a map plotting the locations of North Korea's cell phone towers, which also reveals a row of cell phone towers along the Sea of Japan side. This row of towers on the Sea of Japan side coincides with the presence of a railway line, suggesting that cables are laid along railway tracks and major roads throughout the country, much like the railway bridge across the Tumen River.
Based on this information, Nick predicts that the fiber optic cable from Russia crosses the Tumen River into North Korea, then connects to Pyongyang via the east coast (on the Sea of Japan side). He plots the location on a map.
In addition to Russia, North Korea is also connected to fiber optic cables via China. Nick traced the traffic and found results that suggest there are servers not only in Pyongyang but also near the border between Russia and North Korea. However, further investigation is needed to determine their exact locations.
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