Drones on secret mission to send outside information to North Korea

By Park Sae-jin Posted : May 26, 2016, 12:55 Updated : May 26, 2016, 12:55

[Yonhap News Photo]


Stealthy helicopter drones have been delivering SD cards and flash drives to North Korean residents hungry for entertainment and information from the outside, CNN said, citing a North Korean defector.

CNN quoted Jung Gwang-il, who escaped to South Korea in 2004, as telling a forum in Oslo that the drones have been delivering the contraband since early 2015. It's the first time a group acknowledged that it had been secretly using them to make deliveries to North Korea.

The SD cards and USB flash drives contain Western and South Korean films, TV shows, music and internet-free access to Wikipedia -- media that will help get outside information to North Koreans, who are kept behind an invisible wall that cuts them off from outside influence.

"The regime is trying to stop soap operas, Hollywood films, and things like K-pop. For the reputation as a strong group of vicious tyrants, they're certainly quite fearful of something as simple as cartoons and TV programs. This challenges their iron grip of the North Korean people," Human Rights Foundation President Thor Halvorssen was quoted as saying.

For decades, efforts to bring outside information or entertainment into North Korea have been decidedly low tech. Radio programs made for North Koreans can get their frequencies jammed.

Balloons carrying pamphlets, SD cards and USB flash drives have been released in hopes that the wind would carry them over into North Korea. Sometimes, the balloons drift off course into the sea or back into South Korea. The bulk and size of the balloons make them fairly conspicuous and easy to track.

Traders and activists have hired smugglers to carry goods such as Chinese cell phones, media and other goods over the North Korean border. But relying on a network of people in the secretive state is risky and dangerous to the individuals involved, Jung said.

The trade is not only activist-driven, but also requested by North Koreans who crave information beyond what's permitted in their state, said Jung.
"A USB flash drive costs a month's wage for a North Korean worker, but despite high costs, the North Korean people desire outside info."


The drones can follow a specified route and drop off their payloads in a specific area. Jung said he was first inspired to use the technology after reading about how Amazon was testing drone deliveries and he wondered whether it would work to get small items such as flash drives and SD cards into North Korea.

Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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