[deleted]
Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
81–90 of 134 posts
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#82Can we back up and just recognize how insane North Korea is? I think that future generations will look back on our history and wonder why nobody ever did anything about the incredible atrocities that took place in that country for decades .
At least NK's human rights abuses are contained within their borders. I hope future generations will look back on the many US invasions of foreign countries over the years and all the war crimes that took place during those invasions with the scrutiny they deserve.
Is this how we are to attribute atrocities? Where does the buck stop?
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#83My understanding is that there are three mobile networks in North Korea: the normal one used by the citizens (they have smartphones made specifically for North Korea), one used by the government/military and one for tourists (requires a local SIM card only available in a specific hotel in Pyongyang). The last one is connected to the internet and this is why you can see (or at least before the pandemic could see) Inst…
Re: "I'm always surprised how they supposedly also manage to be some of the most cunning and evil actors when it comes to hacking." I sort of suspect this is just the result of a nation state that is willing to be a pariah. That is, I think nearly any large state could do it if they didn't mind burning bridges.
"Pariah", they've had the longest embargo on earth (which has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths), they had 90% of their whole countries infrastructure bombed by the US, and the Korean war has been called a genocide in the North by many scholars.
The world doesnt make sense if you ignore history.
They probably hack for the same reason the west does it: attack/defense and money.
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#84My understanding is that there are three mobile networks in North Korea: the normal one used by the citizens (they have smartphones made specifically for North Korea), one used by the government/military and one for tourists (requires a local SIM card only available in a specific hotel in Pyongyang). The last one is connected to the internet and this is why you can see (or at least before the pandemic could see) Inst…
>one for tourists (requires a local SIM card only available in a specific hotel in Pyongyang).
I do not think that exists. I imagine the diplomats and other foreigners living there will have this, though.
When I was there two times (in Pyongyang, and in villages in the north east & Rason) any access to the outside world was prohibited via a network other than telephone (I could make outgoing phone calls via the hotel). Even traveling very close to the border (which they use jammers to block outside connections), my guides were annoyed when they saw I was trying to connect to the Chinese network from my phone.
The only place I saw any access "to the outside world" was in Rason (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rason_Special_Economic_Zone), where one of the casinos had a computer which could be used to access the internet (through the Chinese GFW, of course).
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#85My understanding is that there are three mobile networks in North Korea: the normal one used by the citizens (they have smartphones made specifically for North Korea), one used by the government/military and one for tourists (requires a local SIM card only available in a specific hotel in Pyongyang). The last one is connected to the internet and this is why you can see (or at least before the pandemic could see) Inst…
Probably helps that the stance is likely "Hack this target or your family dies". That's always pretty uhhhh motivational.
> That's always pretty uhhhh motivational
If you only met the world on American TV, yes.
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#86Can we back up and just recognize how insane North Korea is? I think that future generations will look back on our history and wonder why nobody ever did anything about the incredible atrocities that took place in that country for decades .
> why nobody ever did anything about the incredible atrocities that took place in that country for decades.
Why in that country ? US controls much of western opinion and made a lot of atrocities, yet, nobody cares (see the ongoing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_States_military_st... )
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#87Earlier quoted context omitted.
At least NK's human rights abuses are contained within their borders. I hope future generations will look back on the many US invasions of foreign countries over the years and all the war crimes that took place during those invasions with the scrutiny they deserve.
Is this how we are to attribute atrocities? Where does the buck stop?
It doesn't.
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
A hot war with China in 1950 was going to end quickly with the firepower USA had on-hand.
In what way? The US nearly lost the Korean war. The US army was nearly overrun at least once. The US airforce never achieved air superiority, and Soviet aircraft were better in most ways. The only undisputed advantage the US had was nukes, which is why MacArthur wanted to use them tactically (!)
The subsequent Vietnam war reinforced this even more.
The only path that America had to win in Vietnam was to destroy it, including the population they were allegedly there to protect. Hence they lost.
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
Re: "I'm always surprised how they supposedly also manage to be some of the most cunning and evil actors when it comes to hacking." I sort of suspect this is just the result of a nation state that is willing to be a pariah. That is, I think nearly any large state could do it if they didn't mind burning bridges.
"Pariah", they've had the longest embargo on earth (which has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths), they had 90% of their whole countries infrastructure bombed by the US, and the Korean war has been called a genocide in the North by many scholars. The world doesnt make sense if you ignore history. They probably hack for the same reason the west does it: attack/defense and money.
What other options do they have? They've been sanctioned to the point where they have few options left but to turn to crime.
Re: Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or how about us not blowing them to bits in the first place? South Korea was on the very edge of capitulation before the US came in full force and even most South Korean citizens were in support of Korean unification at that time. The current state of North Korea would have never come to reality if they hadn't been blown to bits by the US because of big ol' scary "communism".
So, piecemeal cede every bit of land to the evil? Like Trump wants with Ukraine now? If you exclude the outliers like Campuchia and Nazi Germany, even the most benign commies are always way more deadly than the most ferocious fascists.
What makes 1950s Korea evil? You are equating North Korea today with Korea of 75 years ago, they aren't even remotely similar. You don't think your nation getting bombed to literal fields of rubble wouldn't change views and political stances afterwards?
Unification was supported by both sides among the people, most South Koreans supported communism and 70% of them supported unification with the North. South Koreans didn't even support their own government, they were dealing with internal insurrection from their own people. The North was an industrialized nation and the South was a poor farming country and their unification would of been hugely beneficial to both. The war would have been over in another 2 weeks without intervention and a minimal amount of casualties, and it had only been 3 months from the start of the invasion. The only people not in support of it at the time was the political leaders of SK at the time because it meant they personally as individuals would lose power and wealth, and the US who was on a crusade to crush and kill anybody who dared support communism. Korea never should have been split in the first place, but the US and USSR had to be little bitches and force their will upon these people.
Killing 5 million people, most of which were innocent civilians, in the name of "fighting communism" is evil, not the idea of a unified nation of people supported by those same people.