.kp
| Introduced | 2007 |
|---|---|
| TLD type | Country code top-level domain |
| Status | Active |
| Sponsor | Korea Computer Center |
| Intended use | Entities connected with North Korea |
| Actual use | Used mainly by government, very few domains in use. |
| Registration restrictions | Must be a company, organisation, or government entity based in North Korea |
.kp is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (commonly known as North Korea). It was created on September 24, 2007.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Usage
As of 2010 there were an increasing number of websites in the .kp domain. Many of these are hosted by KCC Europe in Germany. A few of the websites in this domain are:
- The official North Korean governmental portal Naenara at naenara.com.kp
- The website of the Committee for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries at friend.com.kp
- The website of the Korea Education Fund at http://www.koredufund.org.kp
- The website of the Korean Central News Agency at kcna.kp
- The website of the digital edition of the Rodong Sinmun newspaper at rodong.rep.kp
- The website of the shortwave station Voice of Korea at vok.rep.kp.
Since December 9, 2010, the top level domain's URL for registration services, http://www.kcce.kp,[2] has been unavailable.[3]
[edit] Internet in North Korea
North Korea has no private Internet service providers.
According to former national leader Kim Jong-Il, "I'm an Internet expert too. It's all right to wire the industrial zone only, but there are many problems if other regions of the North are wired." [4]
Access is rare and limited; Reporters Without Borders once described the nation as "the world’s worst Internet black hole"[5] as "Internet officially does not exist in the world’s most isolated country, but a handful of privileged people are allowed to go online through the phone system (which is routed through China) or via satellite." [6]
As of 9 October 2010, access to a block of IP addresses reserved for the DPRK is now being provided by China Netcom into the DPRK and this has been used to provide uncensored access to journalists visiting for its 65th anniversary.[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Preliminary Report for Special Meeting of the ICANN Board of Directors, 11 September 2007
- ^ http://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/kp.html
- ^ Netcraft www.kcce.kp uptime statistics
- ^ North Korea's Kim Jong Il: I'm an Internet Expert, Fox News, Oct 2007
- ^ Reporters sans frontières, "13 worst enemies of the Internet"
- ^ Reporters sans frontières. "The Internet Under Surveillance: North Korea"
- ^ North Korea opens up Internet for national anniversary
