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China-Japan-Koreas
New Details of North Korean Spy Radio Messages Emerge
2016-07-23
[Defense News] TAIPEI, Taiwan -- A North Korean broadcast of numbers on June 24 ended a 16-year sojourn that is surprising many who thought Pyongyang had given up on the old spy trick.

The practice was halted in 2000 after the first inter-Korea summit between North Korean President Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae Jun.

The 14-minute broadcast of two sets of numbers by a female voice appears to have been the work of the Voice of Korea (formerly Radio Pyongyang), a North Korean radio propaganda station that broadcasts accolades of the Kim family.

A retired US National Security Agency source said the fact it was a 10-11 meter frequency band in the middle of the night, considering that North Korea does not have relay stations like many other shortwave stations, would make the target local to South Korea, Japan or northern China.

"Sun Spot cycle is low to zero right now so would not expect it to be a DX [long distance] transmission," according to the NSA source.

More interesting stuff for you Signals types at the link.
Posted by:Besoeker

#7  I did, actually. Thank you, Bov.
Posted by: trailing wife   2016-07-23 22:47  

#6  in case you are still wondering....
Posted by: Bov Flimbers   2016-07-23 22:11  

#5  Cool. I've always figured Fred was a Crow at some point or the other and there's that weird picture of the Army P-2 Neptune...
Posted by: Shipman   2016-07-23 20:57  

#4  Probably Besoeker. He likes finding pointed visual commentary for his articles.
Posted by: trailing wife   2016-07-23 20:19  

#3  A retired US National Security Agency source said the fact it was a 10-11 meter frequency band in the middle of the night, considering that North Korea does not have relay stations like many other shortwave stations, would make the target local to South Korea, Japan or northern China.

As I remember, the time of the broadcast would be used as the decode key for the body of 'content to follow'. As in someone on a public forum (state TV weather report?) mentions "The moon will be at it's maximum brightness tonight at 12:27".

Night time for a surfacing comm-sub/drone within range of the handset that could render the message then retrans via more(secure) sophisticated means to an accompanying launch transport.

Contrary to some opinion a brilliant moon creates great reflections on the surface to hide a passive antenna trailing parallel to the wave troughs.
Posted by: Skidmark   2016-07-23 10:48  

#2  Wudn't me.
Posted by: Fred   2016-07-23 10:47  

#1  Humm.. Who choose the illustration? Fred?
Posted by: Shipman   2016-07-23 09:30  

00:00