"The information and media environment in North Korea continues to evolve quickly. This report demonstrates that the depth and diversity of information and media access channels have grown markedly since the release of A Quiet Opening in 2012. More North Koreans have greater access to a larger variety of media content and communication devices. However, it is equally clear the North Korean state is determined to regain control of how and what information its citizens access. Rather than attempting to recreate the information blockade and national sequestration of the Kim Il Sung era, the state’s recent technological innovations strongly suggest it is moving toward a new, but no less heavily controlled information environment. This is apparent when we examine current and emerging techniques for censorship, surveillance and integrity preservation across the network, device and human levels." (Conclusion)
The continuing evolution of the North Korean information environment, 1
General media environment, 4
Digital media, 17
Government control of media in the Kim Jong Un era, 24
Mobile phones, 32
Mobile software–based censorship and the signature system, 44
Software-based censorship and surveillance beyond mobile devices, 50
Digitally networked spaces, 55
Connections to the outside world: Chinese mobile phones and cross-border business, 60
Person-to-person connection and human networks, 64
Conclusion, 71
Appendix 1: Telecommunications bureaucracy, 74
Appendix 2: Security bureaucracy, 78
Appendix 3: Data and weighting, 87
Appendix 4: Survey methods, 88
Appendix 5: Additional details of software-based security and surveillance, 89