{"id":38810,"date":"2021-10-06T13:53:53","date_gmt":"2021-10-06T04:53:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/?p=38810"},"modified":"2021-10-06T16:07:29","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T07:07:29","slug":"vomk-report-173","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/2021\/10\/06\/vomk-report-173\/","title":{"rendered":"NORTH KOREA: MINISTRY GOES LOW-TECH TO EVADE STATE SURVEILLANCE"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”38801″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”As the North Korean government implements its new \u201canti-reactionary thought law\u201d, which promises even harsher punishments for anyone found accessing foreign content, one ministry says a return to low-tech methods of information distribution is essential to protecting those who are distributing and receiving gospel outreach inside North Korea. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:1.2em|text_align:left” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:700%20bold%20regular%3A700%3Anormal” el_class=”headline”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Technology always leaves a tra<\/span>il, and often the more advanced the technology, the more obvious the trail<\/span>,\u201d says Voice of the Martyrs Korea Representative Dr<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0Hyun Sook Foley. \u201c<\/span>As<\/span>\u00a0North Koreans\u00a0<\/span>increasingly\u00a0<\/span>access information from the outside world<\/span>\u00a0on\u00a0<\/span>SD cards, USBs, cell phones,\u00a0<\/span>and\u00a0<\/span>computers<\/span>, it actually becomes easier for the North Korean government to\u00a0<\/span>apprehend\u00a0<\/span>those who are accessing foreign content. That\u2019s true not only of those who are watching Korean dramas and KPOP but also those who are accessing Christian content electronically.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]According to Representative Foley, the strategy of the North Korean government is not always to stop the spread of electronic\u00a0<\/span>devices but instead to\u00a0<\/span>let the devices\u00a0<\/span>themselves do the spying work<\/span>. \u201cS<\/span>everal years ago<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0software was\u00a0<\/span>installed on phones and computers which made non-state approved files un-playable\u00a0<\/span>or\u00a0<\/span>deleted them<\/span>,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cBut now, programs like \u2018Trace Viewer\u2019\u00a0<\/span>record\u00a0<\/span>user\u00a0<\/span>activity\u00a0<\/span>and even take\u00a0<\/span>screenshots\u00a0<\/span>every few minutes<\/span>\u00a0that are then accessible to the authorities<\/span>. USBs are automatically infected with\u00a0<\/span>government software that records every device they are plugged into and what files get uploaded or downloaded<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>It is a very efficient way to spy, and ordinary North Koreans\u00a0<\/span>have less options for identifying and getting rid of malware from their electronic devices than users in the rest of the world do.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_single_image image=”38805″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”A listener tunes in to a Voice of the Martyrs Korea shortwave radio broadcast, one of five daily broadcasts the ministry does on shortwave and medium wave into North Korea each day.” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says\u00a0<\/span>that\u00a0<\/span>international human rights organizations inadvertently aid the North Korean government\u2019s surveillance efforts by\u00a0<\/span>relying increasingly on high tech methods for information transmission into North Korea. \u201cWe see\u00a0<\/span>outside\u00a0<\/span>groups\u00a0<\/span>focused on getting as many SD cards or USB devices as possible inside North Korea,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201c<\/span>This doesn\u2019t mean SD cards and USBs are bad.\u00a0<\/span>Certainly<\/span>\u00a0they\u2019re helpful, and we use a lot of them, too. But\u00a0<\/span>high tech<\/span>\u00a0devices should only ever be a supplement to low tech strategies, because generally speaking, the lower the tech, the\u00a0<\/span>more manpower it takes for the government to search and the\u00a0<\/span>harder it is for the<\/span>m<\/span>\u00a0to trace<\/span>\u00a0and apprehend the users<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that this is why Voice of the Martyrs Korea continues to use\u00a0<\/span>technology that may at first appear to be outdated. \u201cPeople may think, \u2018Who listens to shortwave radio anymore? The sound quality of an MP3 player is so much better.\u2019 But the reason why we do five shortwave and medium wave radio broadcasts into North Korea every day is because radios are a great example of a \u2018non-networked device\u2019\u2014that is, a device that<\/span>\u00a0doesn\u2019t transmit information about its use the way a computer or phone does. It\u2019s also why we continue to use printed Bibles<\/span>\u00a0wherever possible. They can be made as small as many networked devices, and these days with the North Korean government emphasizing electronic surveillance, the use of printed materials is often easier to conceal.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that Christians\u00a0<\/span>are especially well equipped to evade high tech surveillance because traditional methods of evangelism and discipleship\u00a0<\/span>don\u2019t rely on physical materials at all. \u201cLong before individual Christian believers had their own printed Bibles, they accessed scripture through memorization. And they shared it\u00a0<\/span>through discrete one-on-one conversations. For underground Christians in North Korea and around the world, scripture memorization and personal evangelism remain the\u00a0<\/span>most important \u2018technology\u2019 for the transmission of gospel content.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”38808″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”A North Korean defector announcer records the Bible for use on Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s daily radio broadcasts and electronic media. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”38798″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][vc_custom_heading text=”Voice of the Martyrs Korea produced a North Korean underground church hymnal using North Korean style harmonies and instruments and songs designed to convey theology. The hymnal has become popular among North Korean defectors in South Korea as well. ” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13px|text_align:center|color:%230a0a0a|line_height:1.45em” google_fonts=”font_family:Noto%20Sans%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]According to Representative Foley, Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s strategy is always to use the lowest-tech strategy available and to convert information to\u00a0<\/span>memorization as quickly as possible. \u201cOur most strategic technology is not SD cards or\u00a0<\/span>USBs, though we use those. Our most strategic technology is our North Korean underground church hymnal,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cSeveral years\u00a0<\/span>ago<\/span>\u00a0we worked with underground Christians to select and record\u00a0<\/span>hymns that contained a lot of good theology and were easy for North Koreans to sing. Most South Korean worship songs are\u00a0<\/span>not done in a musical style which North Koreans can learn easily, and they generally feature one or two simple lines sung over and over, without much doctrine. But hymns can carry a lot of doctrinal information, and when they are sung in the musical style North Koreans are accustomed to hearing,\u00a0<\/span>they can be easily learned by the people who tune into our daily radio broadcasts.\u201d Representative Foley says that the North Korean hymnal is also frequently requested by North Korean defector churches and individual North Korean defectors\u00a0<\/span>in South Korea.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Representative Foley says that evidence of the success of low<\/span>–<\/span>tech methods of information transmission into North Korea can be seen through\u00a0<\/span>government efforts to restrict them. \u201cBalloon launches are the best example of low-tech information transmission<\/span>, and they were the first technology to be criminalized. At that time, the South Korean government also said that in the future it might look into the question of whether radio broadcasts into North Korea should be restricted.<\/span>\u00a0The lower the tech, the greater the likelihood of a ban,\u201d says Representative Foley. \u201cThis is one reason why we must use the widest variety of technologies possible<\/span>\u2014both low-tech and high-tech: Because restrictions on sharing the gospel in North Korea aren\u2019t likely to go away anytime soon.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]More information about Voice of the Martyrs Korea\u2019s North Korea\u00a0<\/span>radio\u00a0<\/span>ministry and Bible distribution efforts is available at\u00a0<\/span><\/span>https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/<\/span>en\/<\/span>project\/northkorea\/<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_section][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”38801″ img_size=”full”][vc_custom_heading text=”As the North Korean government implements its new \u201canti-reactionary thought law\u201d, which promises even harsher punishments for anyone found accessing foreign content, one ministry says a return …","protected":false},"author":659,"featured_media":38802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[857,235,869,140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-russian-special","category-special-column","category-china-special","category-vomk-report"],"translation":{"provider":"WPGlobus","version":"3.0.2","language":"en","enabled_languages":["ko","en","zh","ru"],"languages":{"ko":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"en":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"zh":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false},"ru":{"title":true,"content":true,"excerpt":false}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vomkorea.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}