Russian firm gives new internet connection to North Korea

North Korea has doubled its internet power after the state-owned Russian telecommunications firm started a new connection to increase Pyongyang capabilities in tackling cyber-attacks.

The new connection will potentially increase Pyongyang's ability to stage cyber-attacks and protect the embattled country's online infrastructure.

The connection was first spotted by an Internet analysts at Oracle Dyn, who noted that a new connection for North Koreans provided by the Russian firm TransTeleCom appeared in Internet routing databases about 5:38 p.m. Pyongyang time on Sunday, The Washington Post reported.

China Unicom is operating internet in the country since 2010. With two connections, experts argue that North Korean Internet users could expect a higher international bandwidth capacity as well as a greater ability to withstand attacks.

"In practical terms, [having multiple connections] will allow additional resiliency if one of those connections were to be rendered inactive for any number of reasons," the Director of Internet Analysis at Oracle Dyn said.