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PhD student Curtis Melvin uses Google Maps to uncover North Korea's secrets
North Korea has a reputation as one of the most secretive, authoritarian, repressive countries in the world. But that doesn't stop Curtis Melvin, a PhD student at George Mason University, from trying to shine some light into the country's dark corners.
Using knowledge gleaned from his own trips to North Korea, as well as tips from many others who have visited, Curtis and his crew of civilian spies have managed to plot into Google Maps previously unknown sites in North Korea such as secret prison camps, vast burial mounds, and missile storage facilities. His interactive project, called "North Korea Uncovered," has literally thousands of entries and is the most exhaustive map of North Korea to date.
The Wall Street Journal recently had a front-page article about Curtis' project called "Gulags, Nukes and a Water Slide: Citizen Spies Lift North Korea's Veil." "Mr. Melvin and his correspondents have plotted out what they say is much of the country's transportation network and electrical grid, and many of its military bases," according to the article. "They've spotted what they believe are mass graves created in the 1995-98 famine that killed an estimated two million people. The vast complexes of Mr. Kim and other North Korean leaders are visible, with palatial homes, pools, even a water slide."
The fascinating map is available for download here. MSNBC's Rachel Maddow recently chatted with Curtis about the project here. Gadling's own first-person coverage of the secretive country, "Infiltrating North Korea," is here.
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Filed under: Asia, North Korea, Internet Tools
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Kim@Galavanting Jun 1st 2009 11:15AM
Wow, that is incredible. Well done Mr. Melvin.
saleen761 Jun 2nd 2009 3:04PM
I know where the missile they were loading the other day is pointing now...lol
AG Jun 3rd 2009 12:06PM
"Using his own trips and a network of curious amateur spies who have been visiting the country through these two years."
so when they capture these spies, you start crying like a sissy that "innocent tourists" have been detained or that God send them to protect someone fk*ing on American payroll opposition leader (http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/27/myanmar.suu.kyi.trial/index.html) and then start a propaganda war on media.
And so what even if all this info is with you regarding North Korea? You don't have balls and guts to go after NK (or China for that matter. read http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1255343.stm) like you did for Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries. You know very well that your ass will be kicked and burned the moment you will do so.
Keep you bravery and heroism for hollywood movies only!