UN agency didn't break North Korea tech embargo

The United Nations has decided that one of its own agencies was not guilty of breaking sanctions by exporting technology to North Korea in a bid to help the axis of evil country with its burgeoning intellectual property rights. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) said it had been cleared of any wrongdoing by …

[Anonymous Coward]

So long as they don't find the bits in a nuclear warhead

[Anonymous Coward]

Were you thinking hard drive? Or does it have a particularly exciting LAN card in it?

[Anonymous Coward]

NASA sent a man to the moon with a computer no more powerful than a pocket computer.

Imagine what the North Koreans could do with a server?

[HMB]

Well, just to run away with your logic a bit there, if NASA sent a man to the moon with a tiny computer. I guess that means that they can either send a lot more people to the moon or a few people a lot further a way with a server.

Perhaps the server will allow them to invade Urans.

[Bill Neal]

...with a server?

They still have to engineer a working rocket up to the task

[JaitcH]

Once again, the US Vivid Imagination Working Overtime

The USA is always using international bodies to enforce it's policies, even if it is a failing policy.

They did it to VietNam as a result of their loss of face in losing the American War in VietNam. And the result? A country that is so self-sufficient, so resourceful, it can often do things more effectively using low-tech than high-tech. (Ever seen a ships propeller shaft turned in a manual lathe?)

Once again, the US is trying the finger in the dyke trick with North Korea. There are many countries who actually support North Korea (being an 'enemy' of the US is enough to achieve that). China is the world's manufacturing facility and China is a very big supporter of North Korea.

Even if ships don't want to be tracked entering N Korean waters, they drop ship in China and the goods go by rail.

Same with the US no-nukes (except for our friends) policy. Pakistan and India have them (and no inspections), Israeli got the materials from the USA (no inspections) and N Korea has enough to occupy it's neighbours.

I worked for a small company one of whose products included very high voltage, very high current switches that were designed as nuclear weapons triggers. Cute blue colour with lots of glass. They came in to the plant in high security vans, they were stared in the general stores, and they were carefully tracked.

But the company sure bought a lot more than it used; the surplus were shipped off to some mysterious destinations and to account for the missing units, sworn statements together with photographs were used to satisfy the US authorities. How many more operations are going on like that?

This policy is merely a small impediment that simply creates a market for those shady types who operate world wide, wheeling and dealing.

Computers are one of the easiest products to 'smuggle' since so many units are awash in today's world. It is likely there are far better computers in N Korea than this UN financed unit.

[John King 1]

Re: Once again, the US Vivid Imagination Working Overtime

It's funny how the consensus of Iran and North Korea being some 'axis of evil' has set in to the public consciousness without being questioned. And yet if you go around using drones to blow up a goat herder's wedding whilst eating pizza in a warehouse in Fort Lauderdale you're one of the good guys.

From an alien's eye view it all looks a bit hypocritical.

[Wang N Staines]

Oh f*ck, even the commie are getting on with the IP scam.

[Richard 33]

Patents?

Why don't they just download them from google.com/patents? Given that patents are usually written in deliberately obscure language, I think trying to read patents is more likely to set them back than be of any help.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Patents?

They''re going to look a lot more obscure if they translate them into Korean :P