Archive:North Korean websites banned in South Korea

In September 2004, North Korea launched the Kim Il Sung Open University website [1]. Only three days later, Internet providers in South Korea were ordered by the National Police Agency, National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) to block connections to the site, as well as more than 30 others, including Minjok Tongshin, Chosun Sinbo, Chosun Music, North Korea Info Bank, DPRK Stamp and Uriminzokkiri.

Most North Korean websites are hosted overseas in the US, Japan and China. Critics say that the only practical way of blocking a webpage is by denying its IP address, and since many of the North Korean sites are hosted on large servers together with hundreds of other sites, the impact on the number of real blocked pages increase significantly. Estimates are that over 3,000 additional webpages are rendered inaccessible.

The actions may be in response the to the North's clampdown on Southern radio and television, which has been severely restricted for a long time.

Pro-North Korean websites

• From Opennet Initiative[2]

http://www.kcna.co.jp/  Korea News Services in Tokyo (조선통신)       
http://www.korea-np.co.jp/  Chosunshinbo, Jochongryeon’s organ (조선신보)   
http://www.minjok.com/   Minjok Tongshin (민족통신) based in Los Angeles, CA, USA   
http://www.onekorea.org/ Center for Korean Affairs, Inc. (통일학 연구소) based in New York, USA       
http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/ 우리민족끼리       
http://www.jpth.net/  Tongil Han Ma Eum (통일한마음), a newsletter of the ''Association for Peaceful Reunificaiton of Korea''(it's just a literal translation of 조국평화통일협회) based in Tokyo, Japan.      
http://www.korea-htr.com/chuo/       
http://www.baekdoo.hyperboards.com/       
http://members.fortunecity.com/ym2/       
http://www.kancc.org/       
http://www.baekdoonet.has.it/       
http://www.dprkoreamusic.com/       
http://www.tongil21.com/       
http://ndfsk.dyndns.org/    
http://www.chongryon.com/       
http://www.krbook.net/index-k.htm       
http://www.moaksan.net/       
http://www.krsrt.com/       
http://www.worldcorea.net/       
http://www.dklotto.com/       
http://www.arirang.dprkorea.com/       
http://www.silibank.com/silibank/korea       
http://www.kcckp.net/       
http://www.dprk-stamp.com/       
http://www.dprk-book.com/       
http://www.bommin.net/       
http://www.dprkorea.com/       
http://www.jupae.com/       
http://jajoo.fu.st/       
http://www.minjog.org/       
http://www.big.or.jp/~jrldr/index.html    
http://www.one-corea.net/       
http://www.syccr.com/       
http://www.korea-dpr.com/       
http://www.koryobaduk.com/       
http://www.pic-international.com/       
http://www.chaju.org/       
http://www.geocities.com/songunpoliticsstudygroup/       
http://www.cnet-ta.ne.jp/juche/defaulte.htm       
http://www.dprknta.com/       
http://www.ournation-school.com/ 

References

• Opennet initiative, bulletin 9 [3]