Not a map of constellations

Jason Reed/Reuters

An interesting satellite image of the Korean Peninsula published on 23 October 2006's New York Times.

Taken by US Department of Defense, the satellite picture shows, the paper said, South Korea was illuminated from coast to coast, suggesting that not just lights, but that more bedrock utility of the modern age — information — was penetrating through the population.

The North was black. "While other restrictive regimes have sought to find ways to limit the Internet — through filters and blocks and threats — North Korea has chosen to stay wholly off the grid," the paper said.