SEOUL, South Korea - North Korean leader Kim Jong Il praised his country's scientists and technicians for developing software programs that state media said Tuesday have reached a "world level."
"Programming technology has made rapid progress in a brief span of time thanks to the great creative enthusiasm and ingenuity of our scientists and technicians intensely loyal to the party and the revolution," Kim was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency.
Information about science and technology in secretive North Korea is limited because the country strictly limits contacts and exchanges with the outside world. And the report did not provide details as to what kinds of software Kim was referring to.
An official at South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles relations with the North, said it has been concentrating on developing software such as voice recognition. She asked not to be named because she was not authorized to speak to news media.
KCNA didn't indicate when Kim spoke at what it called the "18th national program contest and exhibition."
Kim is believed to have a keen interest in information technology, reportedly bragging of being an "Internet expert" during an October summit with South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun.
Kim also called for the further development of advanced computer technology and instructed educational institutions to teach computers to students from an early age.
"Koreans can go ahead of others in the computer field, too, as they are clever and intelligent," KCNA quoted Kim as telling officials from the communist country's top science and technology universities while visiting a computer technology exhibition.
KCNA said Kim "expressed great satisfaction" while "watching the programs that have reached a world level."
Internet access for ordinary North Koreans is banned and provided only to high-ranking officials as part of the country's move to control outside information from reaching its people.
