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Daum launches North Korean map service

August 29, 2014
Daum Communications Corp., South Korea's No. 2 online portal, launches a North Korean map service on Aug. 29, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Daum)

Daum Communications Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 online portal, launches a North Korean map service on Aug. 29, 2014. (Photo courtesy of Daum)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — Daum Communications Corp., South Korea’s No. 2 online portal operator, said Friday it has launched a map service to provide easy public access on the North’s geographic information for the first time in the South.

The map service covers North Korea’s entire territory, and contains its administrative districts and their names, and the locations of mountains, roads, landmark buildings and railroads, said Daum Communications.

Users can access the map through their personal computers, mobile webs and applications, both in satellite and electronic map views, for free, according to the company.

The National Geographic Information Institute made the map on a scale of one to 25,000 and one to 50,000 between 2007 and 2009 and had provided it only to state agencies that deal with North Korean affairs before opening it to the public in March.

“It became far more convenient for people to use North Korea’s geographic data” with the new service, said an NGII official. “It will lead to changes in North Korean research projects by private companies.”