Is There Internet Access In North Korea?

Although it may seem surprising, there is, in fact, internet access in North Korea, especially in Pyongyang, but as is to be expected, access to the world wide web is very limited and there are numerous restrictions in place.

The majority of North Koreans are not actually able to use the internet. The several thousand people who are thought to have some form of access use a type of intranet service called "Kwangmyong." Kwangmyong is heavily monitored by North Korea's Communist government and provides access to a small handful of domestic sites, an e-mail program and various news groups.

There are also a few internet cafes operating in Pyongyang since 2002 and according to The Economist's reports, many North Korean company's appear to use e-mail. Nevertheless, the under-developed state of the internet in North Korea is evidenced by the fact that the Communist regime's news agency website appears to be both hosted and edited in Japan, and there are few, if any, North Korean websites hosted and developed within the DPRK.