Pyongyang’s new airport internet room doesn’t have any keyboards - or internet

Pyongyang’s shiny new airport building has all the features international travellers have come to expect, though some lose their luster upon closer examination. Case in point: Its Internet room appears to be missing the Internet.

On two recent trips through the airport by The Associated Press, the room’s three terminals were either occupied by North Korean airport employees, making it impossible for others to use them, or were completely empty, with their keyboards removed. Attempts to open any browser with a mouse resulted in a failure to connect.

Maybe it was a temporary glitch. It’s hard to say, since airport officials have refused to comment to the AP.

But a quick check of the history on two of the terminals showed one was either empty or had been cleared, and the other had a record only of a visit to Naenara, the North’s official website.

At first glance, Internet at the airport would seem like quite a concession for a country that is almost completely sealed off from the World Wide Web.