If you trace this, I'd be curious if this was modified directly by North Korea, or if they hired the work out.
Nationalism and security would probably mandate the former, but I'd imagine even the North Korean government could throw more than enough money at this problem to buy a high quality customized version.
You might find this interesting -
" Computer Science in the DPRK A view into technology on the other side of the world "
http://media.ccc.de/browse/congress/2014/31c3_-_6253_-_en_-_...
EDIT - ok, it's already linked in the article. It is interesting.
Re:Notes on Red Star OS 3.0
by RichardG867 on Thursday January 08, 2015 @01:58PM
(#8858130)
Running strings on the binaries of the built-in apps reveals some Korean names and *.edu.kp email addresses - which, of course, are not available on the public internet.
I'm very curious to have a closer look at the scope and quality of their modifications, and what they indicate about how the Red Star developers interact with the community. Some of their mods may be derived from popular third-party patches, which would require active exposure to the venues where they're shared.