How slow is Kim Jong-un's smartphone?

By Lee Han-soo

Wherever you go in South Korea -- by subway, bullet train or even to remote islands -- high-speed Internet is ubiquitous, like air. The average connection speed is the world’s fastest at 26.7 megabits per second, at which a full-length Hollywood film can be downloaded in just minutes.

But things are starkly different on the other side of the inter-Korean border. The speed in North Korea is just one-13th of its southern rival, a speed at which downloading a movie would take nearly half a day.

So with such poor speed, why do North Koreans use smartphones? Is it just a show of privilege given to those with proven loyalty to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un? And what does Kim do with his smartphone?

Of course, it is unknown if Kim’s Internet connection is as slow as that allowed to his people. Experts do not rule out the possibility that Kim and his confidants may have a fast, unfettered high-speed Internet connection.

“What they (North Korea’s smartphone users) can do may be surfing text-based websites or sending/receiving emails,” an Internet expert said. “Downloading films or watching TV, as most South Koreans do with their smartphones, is absolutely impossible.”

U.S. content delivery network company Akamai recently published a report about the world’s Internet speeds, highlighting the North’s poor service.

Noting the snail-like speed of two megabits per second, the report said a quick browse of text-heavy websites or viewing low-resolution photos might be all North Koreans can do on the Internet.

This is largely because North Korea has only one Internet provider (ISP) and lacks IP addresses, experts said.

Star Joint Venture is the only ISP company in the North, using a fiber-optic cable that runs between Pyongyang and Dandong in China.

The reclusive state also has only 1,024 IP addresses while other countries that have high Internet speeds and access have more than 123 million addresses. Fewer IP addresses means there is little space to be explored on the North Korean Internet.

In 2003, North Korea secured a satellite connection with Germany to bolster commercial Internet access.