North Korea has announced the development of artificial intelligence (AI) programs capable of restoring old photographs and recognizing faces. The country is now jumping on the AI bandwagon, expanding its applications from everyday use to medical and even military sectors.
In its April issue, North Korea’s monthly magazine Kumsugangsan promoted a facial image restoration program called Sunmyeong 1.0, developed by the Amnokgang Technology Development and Trade Company. According to the magazine, the program can clearly enlarge and restore old, blurry, or out-of-focus facial images.
The publication stated Amnokgang Technology Development and Trade Company has achieved results in various fields, including facial recognition, voice recognition, license plate identification, and fingerprint recognition. It added that the company began researching facial image restoration using deep neural network technology in 2017, and claims the program was completed after seven years of research.
It further reported that Sunmyeong 1.0 received favorable evaluations at last year’s North Korea-Russia Informatization Achievement Exhibition and has been registered as a certified high-quality IT product.
The propaganda outlet Voice of Korea also recently featured news from the Information Technology Research Institute of the Advanced Technology Development Center at Kim Il Sung University, which is conducting research on AI-based image technologies.
The report stated that the institute has continuously developed various IT-related products, such as facial recognition-based access control systems and facial recognition authentication software.
North Korea has been actively incorporating AI into various fields in recent years. During on-site guidance at the Unmanned Aerial Technology Consortium and the Radar and Detection Electronics Research Group on March 25 and 26, General Secretary Kim gave high praise to the military effectiveness and strategic value of a suicide drone that utilizes AI technology.
AI is also being introduced in healthcare. In February, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers’ Party, introduced an intelligent medical service system. By standardizing and systematizing data collected during medical services and analyzing it with AI technology, the system can suggest optimized methods for organizing medical care and guiding doctors’ activities, ultimately enhancing the quality of care.
However, some experts warn that North Korea is using AI for illicit purposes such as hacking and covert operations, calling for stronger sanctions. In January, Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) reported that North Korea had attempted to use Google’s AI Gemini to gather information on U.S. military operations in South Korea, as well as to collect cryptocurrency and financial data through hacking attempts.