North Korea is at it again. Dictator Kim Jong Un is using technology to further isolate and oppress his own people. He’s using it to threaten and intimidate the rest of the world.
First off, North Korea’s capital, Pyongyang, announced it’s total blockage of Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, and all South Korean websites. They’re also banning gambling and hard core pornography sites. For most North Koreans, they already have little or no online access. But visitors enjoyed basic, but heavily monitored online freedom. More than two million North Koreans have cell phones. But only officers and hand picked citizens had online access. Now, not even they or visitors have access to such sites. The law says anyone caught using Facebook, Twitter or ?You Tube will be subject to punishment, but Pyongyang was illusive to what that punishment would be.
Then, North Korea is jamming GPS signals. This tampering severely affects air and sea travel around the North/South Korean border. In the last month, this GPS jamming happened over 100 times. South Korean leaders say these jams haven’t caused major damage or incident. But they do believe this is blatant provocation on North Korea’s part. North Korea has had this jamming system since 2010, to be used in acts of hostility against the US and South Korea.
Why is North Korea doing this now? We all know how they sent satellites after the Super Bowl. They claim not only to have nuclear weapons, but they claim they can send them over the Pacific. Kim Jong Un, just like his grandfather and father before him, have always used extremely oppressive measures against their own people. This dictator is upping the ante. Why is Kim Jong Un blocking social media sites entirely, even for visitors and his own officers? And he’s toying with the GPS systems? I’m almost afraid to ask what the punishment would be if a North Korean did look at one of these websites? What is Jong Un trying to prove here?