×
Menu
Search

Rocket Man Kim Gets A Boost – Russia Provides New Internet Link Against The U.S.



Pin It


Oct 06 2017
Facebook
Twitter
Digg
Pinterest
Linked In

Remember how we told you about the good-cop-bad-cop roles being played by China and Russia to ensure the survivability of Fat Boy Kim Jong-un, or rather the “Rocket Man” as what U.S. President Trump likes to call the North Korean leader these days? Well, the drama has shifted into high gear, making it more obvious that Kim regime is here to stay.

 

As Beijing is under pressure by Washington to choose between a poor North Korea and a cash-cow United States, and the choice isn’t hard considering the Chinese are milking US$42.4 billion from the Americans in the month of August 2017 alone, Russia appears to be in full swing taking over the role previously held by China.

 

In attempts to impress President Donald Trump so that the U.S. would not unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on China, which could trigger a messy trade war between both nations, President Xi Jinping has demonstrated his willingness to punish naughty boy Kim. China has almost terminated all types of business with the Hermit Kingdom.

US-China Trade War - President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump

China has even moved to limit Kim’s oil supply and even stop buying textiles – Pyongyang’s second-biggest export – which is expected to cost the country more than US$700 million a year. As a consequence, petrol prices in Pyongyang have risen by about 20% in the past 2 months, allowing the jolly happy Trump to brag and boast until foaming at the mouth about it.

 

But the drop in oil supply from China is being offset with Russia supplying the commodity to North Korea – using one of 10 clever tactics to evade economic sanctions. North Korean ships that left Russia with cargoes of fuel have reportedly declared and pretended to sail somewhere else, only to change their course mid-voyage back to their homeland (*grin*).

 

Beijing’s strategy now is to act as if they have disowned a badass Kim Jong-un by cutting all his daily allowances, leaving him with pennies, so that its huge trade surplus with Washington remains. But using the same “stick and carrot” strategy, China could easily resume, or even increase, its business with North Korea should Trump administration decides to go for a trade war with China anyway.

Toast - President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin

Besides economy, of course, there’s another juice which China is currently providing the North. Both China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin knew it’s a matter of time that U.S. President Donald Trump will come crying and demanding that China cuts one last lifeline to Rocket Man Kim Jong-un. That daily dose of juice is none other than the Internet.

 

It’s a known fact that ordinary North Koreans are being brainwashed and isolated from the international community by denying them the Internet access. Unknown to them however, their leader Kim and his band of elites actually enjoy Internet access – allowing them access to Twitter and Facebook and even play video games, browse Amazon and watch pornography.

 

But the Internet access is more than for adult content or Google’s Gmail to Kim Jong-un. That same connection to the world provides the only access to information and communication required by North Korean to perform their business transactions, not to mention hacking capability by its army of cyber hackers and troopers.

Kim Jong-un Using Computer Watched by Military Personnel

Until now, Internet users in North Korea and those outsiders accessing North Korean websites were all funnelled along the same route connecting North Korean ISP Star JV and the China Unicom link (CNCGroup backbone) that has been in operation since 2010. If China is forced by the U.S. to cut off the link, North Korea will plunge into a dark age.

 

While it’s nice that North Korean elites know what the world think of their leader Kim, the Chinese Internet link also serves as the SPOF (single point of failure). And now that the only Internet connection North Korea has is in jeopardy as a bad cop China slowly turns to becoming a good cop, a major Russian telecommunications company has quietly fixed the problem.

 

As of last Sunday, analyst 38 North revealed that Russian state-owned company TransTeleCom has started routing data and mapping thousands of nodes to Kim Jong Un’s kingdom. Interestingly, the new link came 1 day after The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Cyber Command carried out DDOS (denial of service) attacks against hackers affiliated with North Korea’s military spy agency.

North Korea Internet Connections - China Unicom and Russia TransTeleCom

While President Trump has been promising military options to get rid of Kim regime, to the extent of willingness to wipe out the kingdom’s 25-million populations, in reality, there isn’t any good military solution since a military attack on North Korea would kill 20,000 South Koreans (and Americans) – every day. And that’s only if the Rocket Man agrees to a conventional war, not a nuclear war.

 

With Russia involved in North Korea’s Internet, things could get more complicated – and dangerous. That’s because attacks against North Korean hackers or computer servers could now travel through Russia’s internet infrastructure. Therefore, a U.S. attack on North Korea could be translated and perceived as an attack against the Russians – dragging Moscow into a war that Washington isn’t ready to face.

 

Like North Korea, Russia’s cyber hacking and security cannot be underestimated. Hence, the provision of Internet infrastructure by Kremlin also strengthens North Korea’s cyber-security capabilities. Effectively, U.S.’ cyber attacks on the North, the best option to cripple Pyongyang’s nuclear weapon command and control without going to a war, would be more difficult.

United State Cyber Command Centre

On the contrary, as the new Internet connection provided by TransTeleCom handles 60% of North Korean Internet traffic (China’s Unicom the remaining 40%), Kim Jong-un’s army of cyber hackers are not only better protected but also possess more powerful Internet juice to launch cyber attacks against the U.S. infrastructure and institutions.

 

Suddenly, even if China agrees to abandon North Korea entirely, the lucky Fat Boy Kim is still untouchable. Russia’s TransTeleCom, a subsidiary of the Russian Railway JSC, has fiber optic cables laid alongside the country’s main train lines, from Vladivostok right up to the North Korean border – through the “Friendship Bridge” – the only connection between North Korea and Russia.

 

Clearly, it was a win-win solution for Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin. By hedging its reliance on China for its Internet access, North Korea has essentially invited Russia to the cyber warfare against the U.S. On the other hand, Russia has planted its flag as a new influencer in the conflict. Hilariously, both China and Russia are taking turns using North Korea as bargaining chip to get what they want from the U.S.

Russia Provides Internet Connection Link to North Korea - Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un

 

Other Articles That May Interest You …



Pin It

FinanceTwitter SignOff
If you enjoyed this post, what shall you do next? Consider:



Like FinanceTwitter Tweet FinanceTwitter Subscribe Newsletter   Leave Comment Share With Others


Comments

Add your comment now.

Leave a Reply

(required)

(required)(will not be published)