In addition to the capital and provincial cities, the network now covers 42 small cities and 22 highways and railways putting a 3G signal within reach of 75 percent of the population, the company said.

Koryolink plans to expand the network further to 59 small cities by the end of the year. That would push coverage to 91 percent of North Korea's roughly 24 million people.

Koryolink launched in the final days of 2008, so is approaching the second anniversary of providing 3G services in North Korea. It has one competitor, Sunnet, which runs a second-generation GSM network. Call quality is superior on Koryolink's network and so it is attracting more users, according to sources in Pyongyang.

The IDG News Service