How it began
Development of Red Star OS began in 1998 at the Korea Computer Center. It is a Linux distribution with a kernel forked from the Linux kernel and a GNU userland, combined with closed components. Work on version 2.0 began in March 2008 and was completed on 3 June 2009.
Before it existed
Before Red Star OS was released, computers in North Korea typically ran modified versions of Microsoft Windows with North Korean language packs installed. Red Star was localized with North Korean terminology and spelling, and it uses a keyboard layout that differs from the South Korean standard.
How it works
The desktop edition is influenced by Fedora Linux and the server edition by CentOS, with KDE as the default interface. Version 2.0 resembled Windows XP and sold for 2000 North Korean won. It shipped with a web browser called Naenara, released on 6 August 2009. The system is available only in Korean and targets personal computers, with server and Android-based mobile variants.
Where it stands today
A later version changed the desktop to imitate Apple's Mac OS X, as the BBC reported in February 2014. Version 3.0 of the desktop became publicly available outside the country at the end of 2014. Researchers who examined it at the Chaos Communication Congress in 2015 described surveillance features, including file watermarking. Wikipedia lists the system as current, with a latest release numbered 4.5.
