Eric Schmidt Returns From North Korea, Urges Reclusive Country To Embrace The Web

We’ve been following Eric Schmidt’s visit to North Korea, and it looks like the Google Executive has returned from the four-day trip together with former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, Jared Cohen of Google Ideas, and Schmidt’s daughter, Sophie. In an interview with reporters at the Beijing International Airport, Schmidt said that North Korea is at risk of falling further behind if it continues to limit the access of the Internet and cellular service to its people.

“As the world becomes increasingly connected, their decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world, their economic growth and so forth and it will make it harder for them to catch up economically,” Schmidt told reporters. During their visit to the reclusive country, they made a stop at Kim Il Sung University where students showcased their ability to find information on the web.

They used HP computers to read content from Cornell University’s online resources. Schmidt also spoke about North Korea’s 3G cellular service that was co-developed by Orasco, an Egyptian telecom company, and a homegrown tablet developed by Russia, China, and India.

Image Credit: NYDailyNews

Gene Ryan Briones
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: eric schmidt, Google, north korea