Kim Jong Il, Internet Wizard: 'Net For The DPRK?
During a summit with South Korean's president the reclusive leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong Il, described himself as an Internet Expert. While the comment alone is certainly one of those things that will likely live on as a running joke after being taken out of context. A certain Al Gore comment comes to mind.
So what was the context?
“The reclusive leader made the remark after South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun asked that South Korean companies operating at an industrial park in the North Korean city of Kaesong be allowed to use the Internet, Yonhap news agency reported, without citing any source.
"I'm an Internet expert too. It's all right to wire the industrial zone only, but there are many problems if other regions of the North are wired," Kim told Roh, according to Yonhap.
"If that problem is addressed, there is no reason not to open" the Internet, Kim said.”
Does this mean that the DPRK might be considering allowing average citizens a chance to get online and beat the stuffing out of us in Starcraft 2? Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
Honestly, this could be either political smokescreen or one of the greatest first steps to opening N. Korea that we've seen. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the second option.
So what was the context?
“The reclusive leader made the remark after South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun asked that South Korean companies operating at an industrial park in the North Korean city of Kaesong be allowed to use the Internet, Yonhap news agency reported, without citing any source.
"I'm an Internet expert too. It's all right to wire the industrial zone only, but there are many problems if other regions of the North are wired," Kim told Roh, according to Yonhap.
"If that problem is addressed, there is no reason not to open" the Internet, Kim said.”
Does this mean that the DPRK might be considering allowing average citizens a chance to get online and beat the stuffing out of us in Starcraft 2? Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!
Honestly, this could be either political smokescreen or one of the greatest first steps to opening N. Korea that we've seen. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the second option.
