Ordinary technology is still new to North Koreans

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While the rest of the world has made enormous technological advances in recent decades, the North Koreans have literally been left in the dark. One of the most famous images of North Korea was taken from space and shows the southern half of the Korean peninsula in bright light, while the north is pitch black. Even if North Koreans had had regular access to electricity in recent years, many of them wouldn't have had much use for it anyway.

While the Americans are using their smartphones and tablets to report on the historic summit in Singapore viewers in Pyongyang will be lucky if they catch a glimpse of the negotiations on their old, blurred televisions, which are constantly tuned to the state channel. All the standard media devices that Westerners take for granted are still too expensive in the world's most closed-off state and many of them have only recently become available.

Take television as an example. It's been a staple in the US since the late 1940s, but it didn't really catch on in North Korea until the late 1990s. USB sticks are also becoming more common in North Korea. Mostly they are smuggled across the border and preloaded with subversive material such as K-pop songs. The North Korean data for this infographic comes from a report by Intermedia.

Infographic: Common Tech Still New For North Koreans | Statista

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