...once I realised that this was NOT news that Google image search was going to somehow block pictures of jumper spuds.

I thought it was a floating tank for his sharks..

all he needs now are the freakin' lasers..

...that we won't be seeing North Korea Street View any time soon, then.

...yet?

To welcome our new dog eating overloads!

Have I just been away for too long? When did "Nork" stop referring to a mammary gland and start being the definition for a country run by a spiky-haired tit?

he'll be "wonely, so wonely" (team america reference)

Surely Google does not want to provide to much help for any military operations by

You know, if you spelt "ronery" right you wouldn't have to point out that it was supposed to be a Team America reference.

They are both wrong since Koreans don't mix up R and L. That's Japanese and even then R will sound like L and L will sound like L. So 'lonely' ain't a ploblem word.

Surely this calls for a reconstruction of the entire nation... In Playmobil.

I'm guessing detailed mapping has been removed to stop the somewhat wilder American patriot citizens from planning their own assault on North Korea, given that they probably think Obama's decision not to start World War III (at least not quite yet) shows that he's a lilly-livered yellow-bellied pacifist.

Seriously though, this is a bit odd - why have Google done this? Maybe it's to stop NK officials from easily looking at maps of their own country - but then the satellite views would have to go too. Bizarre.

Paris, because she's always visible via Google... more so when you disable SafeSearch.

...when the US nukes it off the map.

Google preparing for next friday, after North Korea foolishly lobs a nuke into Japan/South Korea on Thusday afternoon, and the US/Russians/Chinese blank North Korea from the map Thursday evening.

Then many North Koreans will be able to travel the world as they drift down out of the fallout

PS Wheres the Mushroom cloud icon?

I'm pretty sure google maps view of NK has always been like this. People have only started noticing because of the recent events.

Hmm, I also think Google Maps has always been blank for North Korea. "Censored" is right about cartographers being most unwelcome: visitors must hand-over any GPS devices to customs on arrival, or risk trial! But you can download older editions of US (1950s) and Soviet military maps (mid 1980s) from lots of places on the web.

(US 1:250,000) http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/ams/korea/ from the

(US 1:50,000) http://www.koreanwar.org/html/korean_war_topo_maps.html

(Soviet 1:200,000) http://poehali.org/maps , Russian interface

The icon is for unwary Western geocachers :-(

The dogs eat you.

All it needs is a few lovely party girls out sunning on the deck. I'm sure he can make that happen by throwing a couple bowls of corn flakes to the locals.

It looks like a penis.

apparently has Norks that are visible from space.

@Matthew Ellen

Sadly, that was my first thought too. I should get out more.

Paris, because she's familiar with them.