U.S. prosecutors have indicted a Taiwanese father and son on charges related to the supply of machinery to North Korea that could be used in the production of weapons of mass destruction.
Hsien Tai “Alex” Tsai, 67, and his son, Yueh Hsun “Gary” Tsai, 36, were charged during a Monday afternoon hearing at federal court in Chicago. Both were arrested last week.
Alex Tsai was picked up in Estonia, where he remains in custody awaiting extradition to the U.S., and Gary Tsai was arrested at his home in Glenview, Illinios. Gary Tsai is a legal permanent resident of the U.S.
In two almost More >
Pyongyang’s Spring International Trade Fair is due to open next week, the state-run Korea Central News Agency reported Monday.
This year’s event will run from May 13 to 16 and will bring together companies from Germany, Malaysia, Mongolia, Switzerland, Singapore, Australia, Italy, Indonesia, China, Poland and Taiwan, KCNA said.
Vendors will show machines, electric and electronic products, light industrial goods, foodstuffs, medical instruments, medicines, building materials, chemical goods and vehicles, the report said.
Last year’s event saw the debut of a tablet computer said to have been developed by the Korea Computer Center image, right).
The number of Chinese companies attending the event has been growing in More >
Last week, the Korean Central News Agency reported that seven local inventors received awards from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The awards were handed out last Wednesday and were part of events to mark world intellectual property day on April 26.
I was intrigued at how WIPO had found these inventors, so I contacted the Geneva-based organization to find out.
KCNA reported the winners as:
- Jon Hyong Su (전형수), room chief of Pyongyang University of Architecture (평양건축종합대학)
- Kim Chol Hyok (김철혁), post-graduate student of Pyongyang University of Architecture
- Hong Song Hyok (홍성혁), designer of the Management Bureau for the Preservation of the Revolutionary Sites
- Pang More >
When South Korean workers began leaving the Kaesong Industrial Zone a couple of weeks ago, they returned across the border in cars and trucks laden with as much finished merchandise as possible.
Plastic-wrapped packages and boxes didn’t just fill the interior of cars but were stacked high on the roof, sometimes even covering the car’s bonnet and hanging off the back. After all, getting those goods to market was the prime concern at the time when people thought Kaesong operations might be suspended for a few days or weeks.
Now it’s looking like the shutdown will last longer and there are new concerns More >
The station is in Takasaki, about 100 kilometers northwest of Tokyo and about 1,000 kilometers from North Korea’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site, and is operated by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which made the announcement on Tuesday.
Detected were two radioactive isotopes of the noble gas xenon: xenon-131m and xenon-133 — something the CTBTO called “rather unusual.”
Noble gases are one of four things the CTBTO looks out for in its nuclear monitoring process. That’s because the gases can be released by either More >
The “clinical medicine information service system” contains details on 12,000 pharmaceuticals and 154,000 kinds of medicines from more than 50 countries, according to a report carried by Voice of Korea.
“It has also more than 15,000 words for search concerning indications, side-effects and contra-indications so that everyone can freely search information on medicines on their basis,” VOK said in its report.
North Korea’s KCNA news agency carried some images on Thursday of what it claims is North Korea’s latest computer.
The machine, called “Noul” (노을), was developed by Noul Technology Joint Venture and it targeted at industrial applications, KCNA said. It’s available in two models: one with a 5.7-inch screen and one with a 10.4-inch screen.
The KCNA report said it’s already in use at Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, Huichon Power Station, Pyongyang Cornstarch Factory and other facilites. Its life it twice that of a conventional PC in an industrial environment because it’s shielded from temperature, humidity, rays and vibration, reported KCNA.
The daily Rodong Shimun More >
Phoenix Commercial Ventures, one of North Korea’s few domestic/foreign IT joint ventures, has reacquired rights to the Sinji brand, trademark and associated intellectual property rights, it said Monday.
Sinji was launched in 2005 as a software development company as a 50/50 joint venture with the Korea Committee for the Promotion of External Economic Cooperation (CPEEC), which reports to directly to the Cabinet.
Phoenix sold off its half stake in the business in November 2010 to an unnamed buyer.
With today’s announcement, the Sinji brand and associated rights are back in the hands of Phoenix, although the company isn’t saying what it plans to do with them.
“Phoenix Commercial More >
“The test was conducted in a safe and perfect way on a high level with the use of a smaller and light A-bomb unlike the previous ones, yet with great explosive power,” the agency said in a brief report. The type of nuclear device was not detailed.
The test came after several weeks of warnings by North Korea, and was strongly condemned by its neighbors.
South Korea condemned it as an “unacceptable threat to regional peace” More >
New solar-powered street lamps were featured on the main 8pm evening news on North Korean state TV this week.
The solar panel and battery combo that powers the lamps was developed by Kim Chaek University of Technology and was introduced by an associate professor at the university named Cho Hyon Ho.
From the images, it’s possible to see a plate explaining the solar cell is based on a Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) compound. Here’s what Wikipedia says about such solar cells:
CdTe is used to make thin film solar cells, accounting for about 6 percent of all solar cells installed in 2010. They are among the lowest-cost types More >