Following the landmark summit between North and South Korea last month, South Korea’s largest telco KT Corporation (KT) has announced it will use its Koreasat satellites to reunite families across the two Koreas.
This is part of KT’s task force to support inter-Korean economic cooperation and expand exchanges in information and communications technology (ICT), which will support the South Korean government’s joint economic and humanitarian projects with North Korea.
The project will see KT use a variety of measures to reunite families, such as using Virtual Reality (VR) and hologram technology, provision of satellite Internet access in rural areas around North Korea via KT’s satellite network, and improvement of communications standards.
Additionally, KT plans to restart joint research and development with the Korea Computer Center under the North’s Samcholli General Corp., which began in 2004, in order to facilitate inter-Korean exchanges. It will also promote programs to educate North Korean IT workers, enable communications for South Korean companies operating out of the Kaesong Industrial Complex in North Korea, and facilitate cross-border tourism to Mt. Kumgang in North Korea.
“KT has played a key role in promoting inter-Korean economic cooperation and milestone events, including the historic summit on April 27,” said Ku Hyeon-Mo, President of KT’s Corporate Planning Group. “As a People’ Company for Korea and the World, we will continue our best efforts to strength cooperation between the two Koreas not only in ICT but also in social and cultural fields.”
KT Sat, the parent company’s satellite subsidiary and the nation’s only satellite operator, currently operates five Koreasat geostationary satellites, four of which give complete coverage of both Koreas. Of these, Koreasat 5, launched in 2006, is a dual-use satellite with 36 transponders, 12 of which belong to South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development.
