Microsoft seizes web domains used by North Korean hackers

Yahoo – AFP, December 30, 2019

Microsoft said it took over online domains used by North Korean hackers, in the
fourt operation of its kind against a nation-state entity (AFP Photo/Drew Angerer)

Washington (AFP) - Microsoft said Monday it obtained a court order allowing it to seize web domains used by North Korean hacking groups to launch cyberattacks on human rights activists, researchers and others.

The US technology giant said a federal court allowed it to take control of 50 domains operated by a group dubbed Thallium, which tricked online users by fraudulently using Microsoft brands and trademarks.

"This network was used to target victims and then compromise their online accounts, infect their computers, compromise the security of their networks and steal sensitive information," said Tom Burt, Microsoft's vice president for customer security and trust.

"Based on victim information, the targets included government employees, think tanks, university staff members, members of organizations focused on world peace and human rights, and individuals that work on nuclear proliferation issues. Most targets were based in the US, as well as Japan and South Korea."

Microsoft, which had been investigating the group through its Digital Crimes Unit and Threat Intelligence Center, said the hacking group sent spoofed emails that appeared to come from Microsoft which tricked users into revealing their login credentials, a technique known as spear phishing.

"By gathering information about the targeted individuals from social media, public personnel directories from organizations the individual is involved with and other public sources, Thallium is able to craft a personalized spear-phishing email in a way that gives the email credibility to the target," Burt said.

After getting the victim's credentials, the hackers can access emails, contact lists, calendar appointments and other data and often forwards any new emails to the attackers.

The hackers also used malicious software which can access other data on a victim's computer.

An order from a US federal court in Virginia allowed Microsoft to take control of the domains, meaning "the sites can no longer be used to execute attacks," Burt said.

Microsoft said this was the fourth nation-state group it has acted against and follows similar moves against operations from China, Russia and Iran, dubbed Barium, Strontium and Phosphorus, respectively.

North Korea gets second web connection via Russian firm

Yahoo – AFP, October 5, 2017

The new internet connection to North Korea supplements the existing link
provided by China Unicom (AFP Photo/Ed JONES)

A state-owned Russian company has opened up a second internet connection for North Korea which could strengthen Pyongyang's cyber capabilities and undermine US efforts to isolate the regime, security experts said.

The activation of the new line from TransTeleCom was first detected Sunday by analysts at Dyn Research, which monitors global internet connectivity.

The new connection supplements the existing link provided by China Unicom, which has almost exclusively routed North Korean internet traffic since 2010.

The additional line gives Pyongyang "significantly more resilience against attacks on their network infrastructure," said Bryce Boland, the chief technology officer in the Asia-Pacific for cybersecurity firm FireEye.

The Washington Post reported earlier that the US Cyber Command had carried out attacks against hackers in North Korea aimed at cutting off their access to the Internet.

The operation ended Saturday, the report said.

North Korea has a 6,800-strong unit of trained cyberwarfare specialists, according to Seoul's defence ministry, and has been accused of launching high-profile cyberattacks including the 2014 hacking of Sony Pictures.

But with only one internet provider to rely on, the regime has often found itself vulnerable to external cyberattacks against its own network infrastructure.

North Korea suffered several internet connection failures -- some which lasted for hours -- shortly after the Sony attack, which many suspected to be a US retaliation.

With the alternate route from Russia, "the possibility of disconnecting North Korea from the Internet just became much more difficult," Boland said.

WikiLeaks dumps data from Sony hacking scandal

Yahoo – AFP, April 17, 2015

WikiLeaks published thousands of documents from last year's Sony hacking
scandal, calling them an insight into the inner workings of a "secretive" firm

New York (AFP) - WikiLeaks published thousands of documents on Thursday from last year's Sony hacking scandal, calling them an insight into the inner workings of a "secretive" firm.

The website said the searchable data dump includes 30,287 documents from the US-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and 173,132 emails to and from more than 2,200 company email addresses.

The same data was released online after hackers attacked Sony Pictures last November and threatened the company over the release of the comedy film "The Interview," which depicts a fictional CIA plot to kill North Korea's leader.

The threats saw Sony cancel the public debut of the movie and led to the resignation of chairperson Amy Pascal. The leaks showed that Pascal had swapped racially insensitive jokes about President Barack Obama over email.

Washington blamed North Korea for the hack.

"Now published in a fully searchable format The Sony Archives offer a rare insight into the inner workings of a large, secretive multinational corporation," WikiLeaks said in a statement.

It said the original release was not searchable and was removed before the public and journalists could scrutinize them.

Sony data was released online after hackers threatened the company over the release
of "The Interview," which depicts a fictional CIA plot to kill North Korea's leader

WikiLeaks described Sony as an influential corporation with ties to the White House, able to impact laws and policies, and with connections to the US military-industrial complex.

"It is newsworthy and at the center of a geo-political conflict," said WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who lives at Ecuador's embassy in London to avoid prosecution for alleged rape in Sweden.

"It belongs in the public domain. WikiLeaks will ensure it stays there," the Australian former hacker said.

Sony condemned the re-release of the data, saying the private information does not belong in the public domain and WikiLeaks is helping the hackers' efforts to harm employees.

"The cyber-attack on Sony Pictures was a malicious criminal act, and we strongly condemn the indexing of stolen employee and other private and privileged information on WikiLeaks," Sony said in a statement.

The data indicates company CEO, Michael Lynton, dined with Obama and Sony employees raised money for the Democratic Party and incumbent Democrat New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, WikiLeaks said.

Sony Pictures Entertainment is a multi-billion-dollar US subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. It handles film and TV production, acquisition and distribution.

Related Article:

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Sony boss Amy Pascal steps down after 'Interview' computer hack

Sony Pictures executive Amy Pascal has stepped down from her post as the company's co-chair. Her departure comes in the wake of a hacking scandal blamed on North Korea, which revealed some embarrassing emails.

Deutsche Welle, 5Feb 2015

Hollywood studio Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Thursday that Pascal, whose emails were leaked during the hacking saga, would step down to take on a new challenge.

The departure was given a positive spin in a company statement, which said Pascal would be helping to launch a "major new production venture" at the studio.

Pascal apologized in December after the damaging emergence of private emails, including an exchange where racially insensitive jokes were made about US President Barack Obama's presumed movie preferences.

She later apologized for "insensitive and inappropriate" comments, saying they were "not an accurate reflection of who I am."

"I have spent almost my entire professional life at Sony Pictures and I am energized to be starting this new chapter based at the company I call home," she said in a company statement.

'Resilience' through tough times

There was praise for Pascal from her co-chair Michael Lynton, who alluded to the difficulties his colleague had faced in recent months. Lynton said the studio had "faced some unprecedented challenges, and I am grateful for Amy's resilience and grace during this period."

Washington has blamed North Korea for the hack on Sony, claiming it has proof - something that Pyongyang denies. North Korea has strongly condemned the Sony film "The Interview," which features a fictional plot to assassinate leader Kim Jong Un.

"The Interview" was originally scheduled for a Christmas Day release, but was pulled from movie theaters amid threats when Sony became the target of the biggest cyberattack in US corporate history. The film was later given a limited release in cinemas, and proved a sensation when it came to online sales.

rc/kms (AFP, dpa, AP, Reuters)

North Korea’s Internet Collapses After Sony Hack

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Dec 23, 2014

Workers remove a poster-banner for "The Interview" from a billboard in Hollywood,
 California, December 18, 2014 a day after Sony announced was cancelling the movie's
 Christmas release due to a terrorist threat. Sony defended itself Thursday against a
 flood of criticism for canceling the movie which angered North Korea and triggered a
massive cyber-attack, as the crisis took a wider diplomatic turn. (AFP Photo/
Robyn Beck)

Washington. North Korea’s Internet has gone dark amid rumors of US retaliation over its alleged hacking of a Hollywood studio, just as the pariah state came under attack at the UN over its rights record.

It was not clear who or what had shut down Pyongyang’s web connections, but cyber experts said the eccentric dictatorship’s already limited connections had gone completely offline.

And, in an unconnected development that nevertheless piled further pressure on Kim Jong-Un’s hermit regime, UN members debated North Korea’s brutal treatment of his huge prison population.

”North Korea is completely off the Internet,” Earl Zmijewski, vice president of data analytics at respected cyber security firm Dyn Research, told AFP on Monday.

Pyongyang’s disappearance from the web came after US President Barack Obama vowed to retaliate for what the FBI said was North Korea’s cyber assault on Hollywood studio Sony Pictures.

US officials refused to confirm or deny that Washington was behind the North’s Internet outage.

But they called for compensation for Sony which — following threats against movie-goers — pulled the Christmas Day debut of comedy “The Interview,” which lampoons North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.

”If they want to help here they could admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages that they caused,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.

Dyn Research said earlier Monday that Internet connectivity between North Korea and the outside world, never good at the best of times, had begun to show signs of instability over the weekend.

”This is different from short duration outages we have seen in the past,” said Zmijewski in an email to AFP.

But he stressed it was impossible to say what had caused the outage. “They could have elected to simply pull the plug or they could have suffered from some sort of failure or attack,” he said.

”I wouldn’t be surprised if they are absorbing some sort of attack presently,” Doug Madory, the director of Internet analysis at Dyn, had earlier told the North Korea Tech website.

North Korea’s communist authorities have denied being behind the Sony hacking that also led to the release of a slew of embarrassing company emails.

Instead, Pyongyang has called for a joint investigation, and vowed reprisals if the US brings in new sanctions, including putting the country back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The diplomatic row comes as China failed on Monday to block the first-ever UN Security Council meeting on North Korea’s dismal rights record after a strong majority of members voted in favor of it.

US ambassador Samantha Power — backed by envoys from Britain, Australia and France — said North Korean citizens experience a “living nightmare” or political repression.

And she recalled testimony from a starving prison camp survivor who picked kernels of corn from cattle dung to eat and of a former guard who said prison wardens routinely raped prisoners.

Power dismissed Pyongyang’s offer of a joint investigation into the hack was “absurd” urging the council to take action against North Korean leaders.

No decision was taken on Monday on the call to refer North Korea to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, but human rights advocates urged the body to keep the issue alive.

North Korea, one of the most repressive nations on the planet, has limited access to the worldwide web, with just four networks on the global Internet, compared to 150,000 in the United States.

All of North Korea’s routing is done through China Netcom, which is now part of China Unicom, Zmijewski said.

Washington has urged Beijing — Pyongyang’s closest ally — to help rein in the North’s cyber hacking activities, with US Secretary of State John Kerry speaking with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi over the weekend to discuss the problem.

”As North Korea’s sole Internet provider, it would be easy for China Unicom to disable North Korea’s access,” Zmijewski added.

”We have checked from hosts inside of China Unicom’s network and can confirm that North Korea is not visible from within China either.”

Pyongyang’s main Internet presence is through its Uriminzokkiri website, which has Twitter and Flickr feeds and is best known for posting propaganda videos excoriating South Korea and the United States.

Agence France-Presse

Obama on Sony pulling The Interview: 'They made a mistake'

• FBI pins blame for massive hack of Sony Pictures on North Korea
• Obama: ‘We cannot have a dictator imposing censorship in the US’
• Obama speaks on North Korean hack of Sony Pictures – live

theguardian.com, Oliver Laughland and Dominic Rushe in New York, Friday 19 December 2014

Obama at the White House said he was sympathetic to Sony’s plight but
said: ‘I wish they had spoken to me first.’ Photograph: Alex Wong/Getty Images

Sony “made a mistake” by axing the controversial comedy depicting the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, President Obama said Friday.

Speaking after the FBI pinned the blame on North Korea for a massive hack of Sony Pictures aimed at stopping the film’s release, Obama said: “We cannot have a society where some dictator someplace can start imposing censorship here in the United States. Because if somebody’s going to intimidate them for releasing a satirical movie, imagine what’s going to happen when there’s a documentary they don’t like.

“Even worse, if producers and distributors start engaging in self-censorship because they don’t want to offend the sensibilities of somebody who, frankly, probably needs their sensibilities offended.

“That’s not who we are. That’s not who Americans are.”

Obama said he was sympathetic to Sony’s plight but added: “I wish they had spoken to me first.”

The president’s comments mark the latest twist in the already extraordinary scandal, which has seen the most high-profile corporate hack in history result in the publication of salacious Hollywood gossip and the cancellation of The Interview, a multimillion-dollar comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen that was set for release on Christmas Day.

The FBI has been investigating suspected links with North Korea’s notorious hacking unit Bureau 121 since early December, and on Friday, investigators said a technical analysis of the malignant software, known as malware, used in the attack had been linked to other malware “that the FBI knows North Korean actors previously developed”.

The FBI also said that the infrastructure used in the Sony attack was similar to other malicious cyber activity aimed at the US that had previously been linked directly to North Korea.

“We are deeply concerned about the destructive nature of this attack on a private sector entity and the ordinary citizens who worked there. Further, North Korea’s attack on SPE [Sony Pictures Entertainment] reaffirms that cyber threats pose one of the gravest national security dangers to the United States,” the FBI said in a statement.

The White House had already labelled the attack as a “serious national security matter” and said it would respond proportionally. The president would not, however, be drawn on what the response would be: “We will respond, we will respond proportionally, and in a place and time that we choose. It’s not something that I will announce here today at this press conference,” he said.

Critics of the Obama administration drew on the investigation’s findings to criticise the president’s track record on cybersecurity.

Senator John McCain, the incoming chairman of the Senate armed services committee, which is responsible for the funding and oversight of the department of defense, described the hack as an “act of war” and pledged to strengthen oversight of the administration’s cybersecurity program when the new Congress convenes in the new year.

Sony has been left reeling from the November attack, after thousands of confidential documents, including employee social security numbers, personal emails, unreleased films, and executive pay were published online.

The hacking group Guardians of Peace (GOP) that claimed responsibility for the attack had demanded Sony pull release of The Interview, which depicted the assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

On Wednesday, Sony cancelled the film’s release after threats invoking 9/11 were made against cinemagoers, andafter major US theater groups cancelled screenings.

That decision has drawn the ire of many high-profile names in Hollywood, who have also criticised the press for publishing details from the hacked documents.

George Clooney called on Hollywood to get The Interview released in any format possible. “We cannot be told we can’t see something by Kim Jong-un, of all fucking people ... we have allowed North Korea to dictate content, and that is just insane,” he said in an interview with Deadline.

GOP reportedly sent Sony executives a message on Thursday evening, calling the studio’s Wednesday decision to cancel the release of the controversial film The Interview “very wise”.

The statement was written in broken English and leaked to CNN. It continued: “Now we want you never let the movie released, distributed or leaked in any form of, for instance, DVD or piracy.

“And we want everything related to the movie, including its trailers, as well as its full version down from any website hosting them immediately.”

Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Guardian.

Reuters had quoted anonymous federal law enforcement officials saying the hack may have been a collaboration between North Korean and Chinese hackers or that servers in China could have been used to disguise the origins of the attack. But Obama appeared to rule out Chinese involvement in the hack.

“We have no indication that North Korea was acting in conjunction with another country,” he said.

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Xi calls for "no more stirs" on Korean Peninsula

A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“….. Here is the prediction: China will turn North Korea loose soon. The alliance will dissolve, or become stale. There will be political upheaval in China. Not a coup and not a revolution. Within the inner circles of that which you call Chinese politics, there will be a re-evaluation of goals and monetary policy. Eventually, you will see a break with North Korea, allowing still another dictator to fall and unification to occur with the south. ….”

"Recalibration of Knowledge" – Jan 14, 2012 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Channelling, God-Creator, Benevolent Design, New Energy, Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Reincarnation, Gaia, Old Energies (Africa, Terrorists, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela ... ), Weather, Rejuvenation, Akash, Nicolas Tesla / Einstein, Cold Fusion, Magnetics, Lemuria, Atomic Structure (Electrons, Particles, Polarity, Self Balancing, Magnetism), Entanglement, "Life is necessary for a Universe to exist and not the other way around", DNA, Humans (Baby getting ready, First Breath, Stem Cells, Embryonic Stem Cells, Rejuvenation), Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text Version)  

“…  I want you to watch some countries. I don't have a clock [this statement is Kryon telling us that there is no time frame on his side of the veil, only potentials]. I'll just tell you, it's imminent [in Spirit's timing, this could mean as soon as a decade]. I want you to watch some countries carefully for changes. You're going to be seeing changes that are obvious, and some that are not obvious [covert or assumptive]. But the obvious ones you will see sooner than not - Cuba, Korea [North], Iran, of course, and Venezuela. I want you to watch what happens when they start to realize that they don't have any more allies on Earth! Even their brothers who used to support them in their hatred of some are saying, "Well, perhaps not anymore. It doesn't seem to be supporting us anymore." Watch the synchronicities that are occurring. The leaders who have either died or are going to in the next year or so will take with them the old ways. Watch what happens to those who take their place, and remember these meetings where I described these potentials to you. …”

Mobile phones a dangerous luxury for North Koreans

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-07-02

The debut of the Huawei Ascend P7 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
June 10. (photo/Xinhua)

More and more North Koreans are using cheap smartphones bought from China, according to a June 26 report by Asia Times Online, a newspaper based in Hong Kong.

A growing number of shops in Chinese cities bordering North Korea specialize in selling cheap mobile phones that can operate on the restricted telecommunication network in North Korea.

Although the mobile phones sold in the Chinese shops are cheap, it is very difficult to bring them into North Korea due to the necessity of bribing border officers and the complex registration process. Many North Koreans, consequently, are still hesitant about getting a mobile phone, according to a source in Dandong in Liaoning province, a border city.

The Chinese vendors mainly target North Koreans who travel to China frequently on shopping trips. The phones offered include various models, with a basic model selling for US$55, foldable phones costing US$80 and touch smartphones costing up from US$130.

Another source in Dandong revealed that groups of businesspeople collect broken mobile phones in North Korea and send them for repair in China because replacement parts are too expensive in their country. Collectors of broken mobile phones usually visit repair shops which display signs marked Pyongyang Telecom near the customs office in Dandong.

North Korea introduced its homemade smartphone the AS1201 Arirang last August. Since 2008, there have been about 2 million mobile phone users in North Korea, but a Chinese Huawei mobile phone at the price of US$150 still remains a luxury for most North Koreans.

PSY - GENTLEMAN M/V (Official new Video)

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Where the Hell is Matt? (YouTube)

'Gentleman' Psy unveils hip-swinging video

South Korean singer Psy (L) performs his hit single "Gangnam

Style" at a concert in Istanbul, on February 22, 2013 (AFP/File,

Ozan Kose)

Lyrics PSY - Gentleman M/V

Alagamun-lan, weh, wakun, heya, hanun, gon

Alagamun-lan, weh, makun, heya, hanun, gon

Alagamun-lan, ari, gari, hanon, kari, he

Alagamun-lan, we-like, we like party, hey

Ichiba, varriya, is hara moru, mashi sondori, yama, varriya

Yougun, pegi, tur, equa, machen, varriya

Noga, onku, pega, haga, kunge, nande, varriya

Damn girl, you're so freakin sexy

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

Alagamun-lan, weh, mikuneya, hana, gon

Alagamun-lan. weh, sikuneya, hana, gon

Alagamun-lan, pali, pali, wasa, nelly, neh

Alagamun-lan, nali, nali, nasa, pali, hee

Ichiba, varaniya, nori, moli, holy, daddy, chunga, ri

Varriya, get feeling, feeling good, brutake

Varriya, gachu, gunya, sorinage, sorinage

Varriya, damn girl, i'mma party, morphine

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

Gonna make you sweat

Gonna make you wet

You know who I am, west side

Gonna make you sweat

Gonna make you wet

You know who I am, west side

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

I-I-I I'm a, I-I-I I'm a

I-I-I I'm a, mother-father-gentleman

Is Kim Jong-Un using an iPhone? North Korean leader spotted with mystery smartphone

Daily Mail, Richard Shears, 5 February 2013

• Phone beside Kim's elbow as he presided over meeting can't be defined
• South Korean phone maker Samsung said it wasn't one of their own
• It could be an HTC from Taiwan or a Sony from Japan

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has been photographed with a smartphone beside him during a meeting – but who made it?

The mystery of what make of smartphone the ruler of one of the world's most secretive countries favours has sparked international controversy not only among geeks but the average person in the Western street.

Is it an Apple iPhone? An HTC from Taiwan? A Sony from Japan? Surely not a Samsung from South Korea, the enemy across the border?

This picture of North Korea's Kim Jong-Un with a smartphone has
triggered fevered speculation about which brand is favoured by the leader
of one of the world's most repressive nations. The device is to his right, next
to apile of papers, but it is not clear what make it is.

'I regret to say that I don't think Kim would be seen dead with a Samsung,' said a technician in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

The dark phone seen beside Kim's elbow as he presided over a meeting with top national security advisers last week is at such an angle that its make cannot be defined.

But experts are agreed that it is definitely a smartphone, revealing that if it does actually belong to Kim he is keeping up with modern technology.

More...

• Even a North Korean dictator needs a cigarette break! Kim Jong-un stops off 'for smoke in HOSPITAL
• Private security group assembles first private navy since East India Company to protect Indian Ocean shipping convoys from Somali pirates

'It's believed that the smartphone seen in the picture belongs to Kim, given that the device was placed right next to the documents he was looking at,' said a Seoul government official.

South's Korea's media has given the picture – issued by North Korea's state media – prominent coverage, along with a discussion about the possible manufacturer.

Samsung was 99 per cent sure it wasn't one of theirs. 'It looks more like an HTC model,' said a spokesman for the company whose Galaxy SIII phone is now outselling the iPhone.

Which one? Experts have speculated whether Kim Jong-Un was pictured with
 an Apple iPhone (left) or an HTC from Taiwan. Samsung was 99 per cent sure
it wasn't one of their own models

The enemy: South Korean technology giant Samsung has said it is sure the
smartphone is not one of their own

Secretive: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un applauds before giving s public
 speech during a massive celebration marking the 100th birthday of national
founder Kim Il Sung

This picture from January 27 shows the North Korean leader attending a
consultative  meeting with officials in the fields of state security and foreign
affairs at undisclosed location in North Korea

South Korea's intelligence agents have carefully inspected the photo and they have also concluded that the Taiwanese firm was the likely manufacturer.

So what does HTC have to say about the phone?

'We aren't going to get into a discussion about the device but we do appreciate the support of all users,' the Taiwanese company said in a statement.

Apart from highly-placed officials, about one million people in North Korea own mobile phones, which were introduced into the country in 2008 through a joint venture with the Egyptian telecom Orascom.

However, they can only phone each other and not make international calls. In addition phones available to the public cannot access the internet.

But it is believed Kim and his close associates are able to get online to the outside world.

'Kim and his family members as well as the North's political elite appear to use smartphones or other mobile phones capable of accessing the internet,' said a Seoul government official.

Foreign visitors entering North Korea are now allowed to bring their mobile phones into the country, but they have to purchase a local SIM card that allows them to make international calls but prevents them connecting to local people.

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Foreigners can now take own phones to N. Korea: Xinhua


"THE OLD SOUL 2013 TOOLKIT" – Jan 13, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll)  (Text version) - New

"... The Change in the Way Things Work

Now I'm going to be very cautious with number five, and I'm going to change a paradigm of the way we channel. For 23 years, we have given you information in the soup of potentials that we read around you as the highest probable potential that exists. These things eventually become your reality because they are your free choice, and we know what you're thinking. We know what the potentials are because we know what the biases are, and we see all of humanity as a whole. Potentials are energy, and it gives us the ability to project your future based on how you are working these potentials. We have done this for a long time. Twenty-three years ago, we told you about many things that were potentially going to happen, and now they are your reality.

But now I'm going to depart from that scenario and I'm going to give you a potential on Earth that is not the strongest. I am going to tell you about a Human Being who has a choice. This potential is only about 50 percent. But I'm going to "read a potential" to you that you didn't expect. It's about a paradigm that is starting to shift.

Let's talk about North Korea. There's a young, new leader there. The potential is that he will never, ever hear this channel, so I can talk freely about him. He is facing a dilemma, for he is young and he knows about the differences in the energy in his land. He feels it. The lineage of his departed father lies upon him and all that is around him expects him to be a clone of this lineage. He is expected to continue the things that he has been taught and make North Korea great.

But he's starting to rethink them. Indeed, he wants to be a great leader, and to be heard and seen, and to make his mark on North Korea's history. His father showed him that this was very important. So he ponders a question: What makes a world leader great?

Let's ask that question to someone in an older earth paradigm from not that long ago. He will be an expert and a successful one. So this is a valid exercise, asking someone from the past who knows. We will ask that question to a man who you know and whose name is Napoleon. For us, this was yesterday and some of you were there. 

If you asked Napoleon, "What makes a world leader great?", he will say, "the size of the army, how much area can be efficiently conquered with a given amount of resources and men, how important the leader appears will then be based upon how many citizens call him emperor or king, the taxes he can impose, and how many fear him." Not only was that Napoleon's reality, but he was right for the energy he was part of at the time. So Napoleon went back and forth between world leader, general and prisoner. He accomplished almost everything he set out to do. His expertise was obvious, and you remember his name to this day. He was famous.

What makes a world leader great? What I am showing you is the difference in thinking between then and now. There are some choices that this evolving young Human Being has that could change everything on the planet if he wanted. His father would tell this boy that what makes a world leader great is the potential of his missile power, or how close he can get to having a nuclear weapon, or how he stands up against the power of the West, or how he continues to aggravate and stir drama as a small country - getting noticed and being feared. His father would tell him that this is his lineage and that is what he's been told all his life. His father did it well and surrounded himself with advisors who he then passed on to his son.

Now, there's a 50 percent chance of something happening here, but this is not a strong potential, dear ones. I'm bringing this forward so you can watch it work one way or the other. For if the son continues in his father's footsteps, he is doomed to failure. The energy on the earth will see it as old and he will be seen as a fool. If, however, he figures it out, he could be the most famous man on the planet... which is really what his father wanted.

If Kryon were to advise this man, here's what I would tell him. He could be the greatest known leader the current world has ever known, for what he does now will be something the world will see as a demarcation point from the old ways. Not only that, but what he does now will be in the history books forever, and because of his youth, he has the potential to outlive every other leader on the planet! So he's going to have longer fame than anyone ever has.

I would tell him this: Tell the border guards to go home. Greet the south and begin to unify North and South Korea in a way that no past prophet ever said could happen. Allow the two countries to be separate, but have them as two parts of a larger Korean family with free trade and travel. Start alliances with the West and show them that you mean it. Drop the missile programs because you will never need them!

This will bring abundance to the North Korean people that they never expected! They will have great economic sustenance, schools, hospitals and more respect than ever for their amazing leader. The result would be fame and glory for the son, which the father had never achieved, something that the world would talk about for hundreds of years. It would cause a United Nations to stand and applaud as the son walked into the Grand Assembly. I would ask him, "Wouldn't you like that?"

Doesn't this seem obvious to most of you? He could achieve instant fame and be seen as the one who made the difference and started something amazing. But watch him. He has a choice, but it's not simple. He still has his father's advisors, but one of which he's already dismissed. He may get it, or he may not. There is a 50 percent chance. But I'll tell you that if he doesn't do it, the one after him will. Because it is so obvious. ..."

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version) 

“… 8. ... North Korea is on the edge of change, as we told you it might be. What did this require? The death of the old energy, and I want you to watch this take place. The advisors of the young leader are going to do their best to pull him back into an old energy. This free choice of his will be far different than his father, for he sees some color. Watch for these things. They'll take longer than you want, but it is the beginning of the beginning. …”

A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

“….. Here is the prediction: China will turn North Korea loose soon. The alliance will dissolve, or become stale. There will be political upheaval in China. Not a coup and not a revolution. Within the inner circles of that which you call Chinese politics, there will be a re-evaluation of goals and monetary policy. Eventually, you will see a break with North Korea, allowing still another dictator to fall and unification to occur with the south. ….”