ASIA / PACIFIC
January 1, 2018
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5
$PHULFD·V3UHPLHU-HZHOU\ %HDG)DLUHV
*(0)$,5(
-$18$5<
+,//6%252
:DVKLQJWRQ&RXQW\)DLUJURXQGV
WEAK WI-FI. This December 23, 2017 photo shows the internet corner in the departures lobby of Pyong-
yang’s international airport. Despite being one of the least internet-friendly countries in the world, North Korea’s
main internet provider recently set up an airport Wi-Fi network available to travellers who have cleared customs.
Access to Wi-Fi and the internet in general remains beyond the reach of most North Koreans. (AP Photo/Eric
Talmadge)
Postcard from Pyongyang:
The airport now has Wi-Fi, sort of
By Eric Talmadge
The Associated Press
YONGYANG, North Korea —
North Korea is one of the least
Wi-Fi-friendly countries in the
world. Having a device that emits Wi-Fi
signals can result in detention and a major
fine. Worse, if you are a North Korean.
Public use of the internet is a concept that
just makes North Korean officials really
nervous.
But here’s a sign that might be
changing.
North Korea’s main internet provider
appears to have put up a Wi-Fi trial
balloon at the international departure
area of Pyongyang’s airport. It’s a logical
place to start. The service is only available,
or even visible, to travellers who have
already cleared customs, which included
me recently. So, noticing the new sign with
the familiar Wi-Fi logo in the internet
corner of the departures lobby, I decided to
give it a whirl.
My flight was fogged in, so I had some
extra time. I didn’t expect much. The
internet corner, with a handful of
terminals, opened in 2015, but I have yet to
see anyone actually using it. The first time
I tried, there were no attendants available
and no keyboards for the desktops.
This experience was different. The
young woman staffing the internet service
area told me I could use the Wi-Fi for 30
minutes if I paid $2. She took down my
passport number and gave me a slip of
paper with a username and password. The
signal was strongest near the coffee shop,
where the router is, so she suggested I log
on there.
I tried. Several times. The login was
incorrect, according to a screen message.
I went back to the internet corner and
asked for help. The attendant apologetical-
ly came with me to the coffee shop and we
tried it together. No luck. She asked me to
wait, then came back with a new user-
name. It didn’t work. She called her super-
visor on her cellphone. We tried again.
P
The final screen message we got before
giving up was that the page could not be
opened. The attendant took me back to the
internet corner and refunded my $2.
None of this came as a particular shock.
Airport Wi-Fi can be more aspirational
than functional in a lot of places. I’ve had
essentially the same issues in Beijing,
minus any helpful attendants. In a way, it
was also a relief. Logging on to any
unfamiliar Wi-Fi network, especially at an
airport, opens a phone up to all kinds of
hacking mischief.
Still, the Pyongyang airport Wi-Fi IP
address that appeared on my phone would
be logical for a private network. And I was
getting three bars when I was at the coffee
shop, meaning something was indeed out
there.
Moreover, the attendant seemed
genuinely helpful. She did pretty much
what anyone would do in a similar
situation with a customer and clearly
expected we would be able fix the problem
and log on. She also offered to let me use
the internet on one of the desktop
terminals, suggesting that is now actually
functional, too.
Maybe some kinks need to be worked
out. Contrary to popular belief, not
everything in North Korea is fake.
But then again, some things certainly
are.
It could be the Wi-Fi is like the airport’s
still-new ATMs — the lights are on, at
least sometimes, but they have never
completed a transaction as far as anyone I
know can tell. Or they could be like the
brand new coffee vending machine in the
arrivals area. Despite its own instructions,
for the life of me, I couldn’t find a slot on
the machine to insert my money or any
indication of how much it would cost.
Alas, I had to catch my plane without
checking my e-mail.
I’ll try again next time, if it’s still there.
Eric Talmadge, The AP’s Pyongyang bureau
chief since 2013, has flown in and out of the
North Korean capital’s airport dozens of times.
^1(WK$YH+LOOVERUR25`
*(0)$,5(+2856
)5,SPSP_6$7DPSP_681DPSP
%ULQJWKLVDG
WRUHFHLYH21(
((
)5
GPLVVLRQ
D
$GPLVVLRQ
-(:(/5<&5<67$/6
-HZHOU\5HSDLU
*(06%($'66,/9(5
/DUJHVW6HOHFWLRQ
0,1(5$/6)266,/6
1HZ9HQGRUV
-HZHOU\5HSDLU_/DUJHVW6HOHFWLRQ_1HZ9HQGRUV
1RWYDOLGZLWKRWKHURIIHU21(SHUSHUVRQ3URSHUW\RI*HP)DLUH,QFFDQEHUHYRNHGZLWKRXWQRWLFH1RQWUDQVIHUUDEOH
1RWYDOLGZ
Z
6SRQVRUHGE\*(0)$,5(,1&__*(0)$,5(&20
1DWLYH3ODQW6DOH
LV&RPLQJ6RRQ
• Buy native bare-
root trees and
shrubs for just $3
• January 17 th :
Online orders
begin at 7 am
• February 17 th :
Plant pick-up at
EMSWCD office
(5211 N Williams Ave,
Portland)
/HDUQPRUHDW
emswcd.org/plantsale
The Asian Reporter is published on the first & third Monday each month.
News page advertising deadlines for our next two issues are:
January 15 to February 4, 2018 edition:
Space reservations due: Wednesday, January 10 at 1:00pm
Artwork due: Thursday, January 11 at 1:00pm
February 5 to 18, 2018 edition:
Space reservations due: Wednesday, January 31 at 1:00pm
Artwork due: Thursday, February 1 at 1:00pm
Become an online reader!
China says United States should curb
demand for opioids, not blame China
By Gerry Shih
The Associated Press
EIJING — The United States
should look within to cut down
demand for opioids which are
fuelling its deadly drug crisis rather than
stressing unsubstantiated claims that
China is the major source of these
chemicals, a top Chinese drug enforcement
official says.
China and the U.S. have worked to build
a close working relationship to fight global
flows of illicit synthetic drugs, but their
collaboration remains fraught.
Yu Haibin of the China National Nar-
B
cotics Control Commission told reporters
there was little evidence showing China
was the source of much of the chemicals
used in the production of the powerful
opioid, fentanyl. U.S. President Donald
Trump in November blamed a “flood of
cheap and deadly” fentanyl made in China
for the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S.
history.
“China doesn’t deny that shipments to
the U.S. happen, but there isn’t the proof to
show how much — whether it’s 20 percent
or 80 percent,” said Yu, adding that U.S.
authorities have only sent him informa-
tion about six shipments from China in the
Continued on page 13
Visit <www.asianreporter.com> and click on the
“Online Paper (PDF)” link to download our last two issues.
