North Korea is rolling out an on-demand TV catch-up service, allowing people with some sort of internet access to enjoy the highly-propagandised output of its four state-run TV channels at their leisure.
The system, which goes by the name “Manbang” (“Everywhere”), has a menu that divides programming by channel and genre.
Viewers can scroll through the day’s programmes – usually aired during a 3.00pm-11.00pm window – and select a particular TV show to watch.
A programme introducing the service that aired on Korean Central Television (KCTV) last week said it was available to any institute, company or household that subscribes to North Korea’s state-operated intranet.
The number of intranet subscribers in North Korea is unknown, but KCTV said “hundreds” of people had signed up to the Manbang service in Sinuiju – one of three cities where the system is being rolled out.