What is this? Can somebody please explain?

North Korea supposedly still uses numbers stations to contact infiltrators. Though, they may just keep the stations as a way to ratchet up tensions with South Korea, given that numbers stations are a bit anachronistic. Who knows! It's interesting though.

https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20200829002300315

https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?lang=e&Seq_Cod...

They've done it before as well (better source + more detail, but less current):

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/22/world/asia/north-korea-sp...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbers_station

Numbers stations are really cool. Its kinda sad to see them slowly fade away.

it _seems_ to be someone's "open-source intelligence" documentation of NK comms; numbers stations and other secret communications. There also seems to be some propaganda mixed in, with the implication it's also somehow tradecraft.

I've spent 10 minutes trying to understand this, including watching the YouTube video with autotranslated subtitles, and still have no clue what it's about.

IMO this nonsensical gibberish has no place on this site.

The Readme would benefit from a more exhausting explanation of what this is. Not just "A global message from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea".

This is brilliant. And here I thought the NorthKoreaDNSLeak back in 2016 was something to pour hours over, this is a treat !

I, like others on HN, am confused as to what this is, but you seem excited about it. Would you care to explain what this information represents? Is it a puzzle? Is it a leak from NK?

What's the relevance of a book, an index of some server with music, and how does it all tie to disinformation campaign mentioned at the top of the readme?

I think what op means is it's a huge waste of time.

This disappeared. There were two other forks, but now I can't find them. It was interesting analysis, couldn't find blatant inaccuracies.

Is this some kind of ARG for conspiracy nuts, like the numbers stations?

Numbers stations are real and are very simple. Back in the day all major spy agencies would operate them.

Simple but effective. You can send coded messages via radio waves, to receive them you only need a radio. You can send them from your country so enemy state(s) cannot stop you from doing it short of invasion/sabotage.

If spies are using none reused one time codebook its impossible to decode message without the codebook.

Because of its nature you cannot really catch anyone receiving signal.

The only downside is that its one way communication and if somehow spy gets caught than their codebook can be used for decoding of the messages (but each spy would have unique book). So even that could have small fallout.

I haven't parsed it fully but it looks like an attempt to annotate north korean tradecraft?

Numbers stations do exist (not legally but still), but keep in mind that these days you could just leave comments on hackernews aligning with words in a book (as your OTP), for example.

Is this one of those interactive puzzle thingy?

  vfvv eerv eeaf rere gere rsve nerb vrbe lrgv!

as we used to say in the KGB