You’ve probably heard stories of the amazing perks that are available to Google employees from those who were lucky enough visit the search/AndroidOS/email/everything-computer-related company’s corporate headquarters in Mountain View, CA. I just wonder what the North Korean delegates are going to tell their fellow countrymen when they get back.
The Chosun Ilbo is reporting that the economic delegation toured the facilities this past Friday. The tour was not announced, and was not open to the media. After a 1 hour and 40 minute long tour, the 12-member delegation visited Stanford University’s campus and attended a lunch seminar with other IT staffers from companies within Silicon Valley.
The visit wasn’t announced by the U.S. or North Korea, but a South Korean Foreign Ministry official speculates that this may have been initiated by American officials rather than North Korea.
“It appears that U.S. officials may have arranged the visit to Google in order to show the North Koreans the level of U.S. technology and influence. Though it’s unlikely that North Korea will open up to the outside world immediately, it could help shift the mindset of the regime over the long term.”
So is this the first step towards an open North Korea? Has Google compromised its moral standards again by participating in this visit? Should the U.S. announce these sorts of visits beforehand? Would love to hear your opinions on this.
