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February

US may move fewer marines from Japan to Guam, Radio Australia, Connect Asia, Liam Cochrane, 6 February 2012

Japan and the United States are reported to have agreed to change the way American soldiers will be re-distributed throughout the region - a seeming breakthrough to the long-stalled relocation process...

If the reports are true, 4,700 marines will be transferred to Guam regardless of what happens to the Futenma airbase while the remaining 3,300 will be transferred elsewhere around the region. 

Radio interview with Nautilus Associate, Richard Tanter. Click here for audio. 

North Korea Bans Use of Mobile Phones, Tech Wire Asia, Goutama Bachtiar, 5 February 2012

North Korea allowed limited access to cell phones in December of 2008 and limited access to the internet is available on mobile devices since three years ago. It is estimated that only 0.09 percent of its total population, around 20,000 people (from 23 million citizens), now have cell phones even though 400 million dollars estimated was spent to build the infrastructure of 3G network in the country. 

It changes drastically now. November last year, according to Reuters, with 49,000 percent growth, they have hit 1 million users on its new 3G network. Another report from Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability said around 60 percent of people between the ages of 20 and 50 used cell phones in the capital city, Pyongyang, which has a total population of 3 million.

North Korea’s sole mobile operator reaches 1 million customers, The Next Web, Jon Russell, 3 February 2012

Statistics from last year suggested that more than 1.1 million (less than 5 percent) of the country owned a fixed-line telephone, which had traditionally been more available than mobile, but the increasingly popularity of mobile means it will likely be dominant soon. However, as a report from The Nautilus Institute noted, the cost of devices and tariffs remain beyond the reach of many North Koreans.

Cell Phone Users in North Korea Surpasses 1 Million Mark, Arirang News, 3 February 2012

Fewer than 70,000 North Koreans used cell phones two years ago and a year ago the figure stood at about 300,000. One recent study by the Nautilus Institute says 60 percent of Pyeongyang residents aged 20 to 50 use cell phones.

January

North Korea: Please turn off your cell phone... or else, Foreign Policy, Kedar Pavgi, 27 January 2012

Analysts at the time said that the network posed little of a threat to the regime, mainly because officials had controlled outside information so tightly.  Additionally, severe limitations on the internet restrict access to any domain except a handful of historical sites that are accessible to a select few people.  However, as the Nautilus Institute's Alexandre Mansourov said in a report, "The DPRK mobile communications industry has crossed the Rubicon and the North Korean government can no longer roll it back without paying a severe political price."