From the Korea Liberator and Sunday Morning Herald:
You can download the game here.
9/7/2006
South Koreans will be able to enjoy one of their favorite games on computer using a program written in communist North Korea released here Thursday.
“Silver Star 2006” –a North Korean-made computer program of the chesslike board game called Baduk in South Korea and more widely known as GO–was launched in South Korea as part of an agreement reached with the North in July, said ForOneBiz, the South Korean distributor.
The program can be downloaded for 33,000 won (US$35; euro27), part of which will be paid to the North as royalties, ForOneBiz said.
The company said it also plans to share its technology know-how with the North to improve the software.
The level of technology development in the impoverished North is a far cry from the neighboring capitalist South, which boasts the world’s highest per capita broadband connections.
As part of North Korean government controls on outside information reaching its people, outside Internet access is provided only to high-ranking officials and elite.
The game released this week isn’t the first time for a North Korean computer program to go on sale in the South. In March, North Korean software was launched here for the first time to help with input of repetitive words and provide various symbols and sound effects when people use word processors or send e-mail.
The two Koreas remain divided since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. However, relations have warmed in recent years since a 2000 summit between leaders of the North and South, and the two sides are involved in a number of joint projects.
