North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world. Despite claims to have made extreme technological advances over the years, although many are false, we will discuss their nuclear program and technological advancements.

One of the technological advancements was an “intelligent home system” that would react to human voices and turn on systems within the home to make life easier for humans. Like an AI Alexa, how we could say, “Hey Alexa, turn off the lights.” This was realized relatively late in 2018, but most of the newest technological advances in North Korea have been about the military and nuclear program that Kim Jong Un is exceptionally proud of. Another of the most significant changes is the new Wi-Fi service Mirae, shown during an exhibition held in North Korea. It is estimated that 6 million North Koreans have mobile phones with two choices of 3g network providers. Although this may seem like a significant advance, phones are extremely limited in what software they may use or download, and going past the boundaries set by the government can be extremely dangerous because you may face harsh disciplinary action.

(North Korea showcasing a smart home system)

With the Kim Jong-un regime over North Korea, nuclear missile testing launches have reached alarming rates, with about 80 to 90 ballistic missiles from 2022 to 2023.  They tested multiple ICBMS, all capable of carrying nuclear warheads, and some are within reach of the United States of America and most of Europe. Most of these test missiles land off Japan’s coast, and Japanese diplomats argue about how close the missiles land to their coast. The Hwasong-18 is the most capable ICBM that North Korea currently has; it has a range of 15,000 Km and can carry a nuclear warhead and possibly a MIRV(Multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, in other terms, multiple warheads). North Korea is currently under testing this ICBM to test its full capabilities. But to put it into perspective, North Korea is 9,977 Km from the U.S., and this missile has a range of 15,000 km. North Korea is known for being an irrational country. It is pretty concerning for them to have these capabilities.

(Hwasong-18 Test launch)