'Egypt's Orascom stops service in N. Korea'

By Jun Ji-hye

Egyptian telecommunications giant Orascom stopped its service in North Korea early last month and is preparing for a full withdrawal from the country, according to media reports, Tuesday.

Local news agency Newsis quoted Japanese intelligence officials and industry sources as saying Orascom has decided to pull its network out of the North completely amid mounting pressure from the United States and the U.N. Security Council (UNSC).

The move comes as the international community works to impose harsher sanctions on the regime in Pyongyang in response to its repeated launches of ballistic missiles. In the latest in a series of military provocations, the North fired a Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile, Nov. 29, claiming it is capable of carrying a larger and more powerful nuclear warhead that can strike anywhere in the U.S. mainland.

The media report noted the Egyptian company has yet to officially announce its decision to withdraw from the North, as some procedures need more time to be handled smoothly.

In 2008, Orascom, in collaboration with Pyongyang, established Koryolink, the North's only 3G mobile phone network. The number of customers has reportedly reached 3.5 million. The Egyptian company holds a 75 percent stake, while the North has a 25 percent stake.

The business deal, authorized by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, was part of Cairo's willingness to invest in the reclusive state, highlighting bilateral economic links.

The withdrawal is expected to deal a considerable blow to the North, given that Koryolink has been the largest telecommunication operator there.

The Egyptian telecom firm had previously indicated its willingness to continue its business in the North within the limits of U.N. sanctions, but is seen as giving up amid international pressure.

In September, Sawiris said during his interview with CNBC that his investments in the North were about $250 million, but claimed he stays out of politics there.

"I believe I've extended a good service to the innocent people of North Korea who are deprived from seeing their parents who live miles away or can't call their children when they come back from school," he was quoted as saying. "They're allowed to have the simplest services that everybody in the West has. It has nothing to do with politics."