Hunting for North Korean Fiber Optic Cables
3 days ago
- #Internet Infrastructure
- #North Korea
- #Fiber Optics
- The post explores the physical layout of North Korea's internet and fiber optic network, based on limited information and assumptions.
- Key findings include fiber optic connections from Russia and China, with routes likely following major roads and railways, especially along the east coast.
- Historical data reveals early fiber installations between major cities like Pyongyang, Hamhung, and Sinuiju, with a backbone capacity of 2.5 GB per second for the Kwangmyong intranet.
- The Kwangmyong network connects all provinces in North Korea, serving as the primary intranet for citizens without access to the global internet.
- Evidence suggests fiber infrastructure is buried underground, with junction boxes and conduits along railways and highways.
- Traceroute data indicates different latency patterns for traffic entering North Korea via China versus Russia, hinting at possible centralized routing in Pyongyang or border-proximate hosting.
- The post invites further information or corrections, emphasizing the speculative nature of the findings.