HONG KONG — North Korea will finally allow people to search the Internet from their mobile devices and laptops within the country’s borders. But if you’re a North Korean, you’re out of luck — only foreigners will be given the privilege.
Cracking the door open ever so slightly to wider Internet use, the government has allowed a company called Koryolink to give foreigners access to 3G mobile Internet service by March 1, The Associated Press reported.
The decision, made public Friday, comes just a month after Google’s chairman, Eric E. Schmidt, visited Pyongyang and prodded officials on allowing Internet access, noting how easy it would be to set up through Koryolink’s expanding 3G network. Presumably, his appeal was directed at giving North Koreans such capability.
“As the world becomes increasingly connected, their decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world, their economic growth and so forth,” Mr. Schmidt told reporters after arriving at Beijing International Airport following his visit to North Korea. “We made that alternative very, very clear.”
Foreigners were only recently given access to cellphones while traveling in the country. Previously, they had to surrender their phones with customs agents.
IHT Rendezvous: North Korea Widens Access to Internet, but Just for Visitors
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IHT Rendezvous: North Korea Widens Access to Internet, but Just for Visitors
