NORKS ban Wi-Fi and satellite internet at embassies

North Korea has sent a stern request to foreign embassies, asking them to stop using WiFi and satellite internet services within their walls.

NKNews.org reports that the hermit kingdom's State Radio Regulatory Department has written to diplomatic missions to remind them that licences are required to operate radio equipment. Embassies therefore need to switch off satellite connections to the internet and internal WiFi kit until they conduct “a consultation” with the Department in order to obtain permission to run a hotspot or three.

The Departmental prod is seen as a way to ensure North Korea can surveil diplomatic communications with the outside world.

It's also thought that Embassies in Pyongyang sometimes employ tardy sysadmins who leave WiFi hotspots open. Such lax practices have led some North Koreans to the realisation that areas near diplomatic outposts offer a chance to access un-censored internet feeds!

Embassies in Pyongyang are therefore doubtless thankful for the State Radio Regulatory Department's reminder of their statutory duties, as surely none have any interest in allowing the free flow of information into the workers' paradise that is North Korea. ®