Defector: North Korea computer tablet operates on South Korea memory chips

SEOUL, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- A personal computer tablet North Korea debuted two years ago operates on South Korean semiconductors, a defector group said on Wednesday.

North Korean defector Kim Heung-gwang, who heads the group NK Intellectuals Solidarity, told Yonhap that the PC tablet dubbed "Ryonghung" contains a China-manufactured motherboard and operates on two South Korea-made memory chips.

Kim worked as a professor of computer science at North Korea's Hamhung University of Computer Technology, but left North Korea in 2004.

The group had disassembled a Ryonghung tablet, to discover the components, including two memory chips from South Korean corporation SK Hynix. While NK Intellectuals Solidarity did not provide details on how the tablet was obtained, the group said the tablet had arrived in a box with the words "Tablet PC Ryonghung -- Mount Ryongak Information Technology Exchange" printed on the side.

The 8-inch tablet features a 1-gigahertz central processing unit, or CPU, a main memory or RAM of 512 megabytes, an internal memory of 8 gigabytes, and an external memory of 16 gigabytes. The tablet weighs 8.8 ounces, and has a battery life of 6 hours, according to the group.

The tablet comes with a pink protective case, a charger and accessories from Kingston, a Chinese memory chip manufacturer.

North Korea initially debuted the Ryonghung in May 2013, at the Pyongyang International Trade Fair. The tablet was noted for its use of Google's Android operating system, and for being equipped with tablet applications such as educational software that teaches users about the Juche ideology of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. South Korean newspaper Herald Business reported the tablet came with 30 other basic apps, including more educational software, games, a camera, photo album, calculator and a music player.

In May, North Korea introduced what it called the next-generation "Myohyang" tablet that was equipped with a dual-core central processing unit, 1 gigabyte of RAM and featured a 1024x600 pixel resolution panel.