The following is from the ARRL URL:
"DXCC to Accept P5/4L4FN Contacts for Credit
NEWINGTON, CT, Apr 2, 2002--The ARRL has announced it
will accept SSB contacts with P5/4L4FN in North Korea
(Democratic Peoples'
Republic of Korea) for DXCC credit. Operator Ed
Giorgadze of the Republic of Georgia, has been active
from the capital city of Pyongyang since early
last November. Valid SSB contacts from the onset of
the P5/4L4FN operation last fall may be submitted for
DXCC credit, effective immediately.
"The ARRL has now
received adequate evidence that the operation by Mr.
Giorgadze is being conducted
with the knowledge
and approval of telecommunications officials in
Pyongyang," said ARRL Membership
Services Manager
Wayne Mills, N7NG. "At the present time, this approval
is limited to SSB operation."
Giorgadze has been
operating with oral permission from North Korean
authorities, but Mills said the ARRL
is satisfied on the
basis of written information submitted that the
P5/4L4FN operation conforms with DXCC
rules and should be
accepted for credit.
Mills cited DXCC
Rule 7, which states "Any Amateur Radio operation
should take place only with the
complete approval
and understanding of appropriate administration
officials." The rule continues, "In any
case, credit will
be given for contacts where adequate evidence of
authorization by appropriate authorities
exists."
Mills said the ARRL
Awards Committee met and concurred that the operation
should be accredited.
The P5/4L4FN operation is not a DXpedition. Giorgadze
is employed by the United Nations World Food Program
and often spends as much as 12 hours
a day on the job, operating in his off hours. It's
expected that he will be in North Korea at least until
July and possibly longer. He tried for more than two
years to obtain permission to operate Amateur Radio
and finally was given the okay last year to bring an
ICOM IC-706MkIIG into the country. Initially
using a 20-meter dipole, he now has installed a
multi-band vertical and has been active on several
bands. A favorite hangout has been 21.225 MHz (he
works split and listens up). He's also been a frequent
visitor to 10 meters.
While P5/4L4FN has been doing some RTTY operation in
addition to SSB, those contacts are not yet acceptable
for
DXCC credit.
Bruce Paige, KK5DO, has been acting as QSL manager and
liaison for P5/4L4FN. Paige offers an on-line log and
additional news and information about the operation on
his AMSAT Net Web site. Click on the "P5 North Korea"
link.
Following the recent Ducie Island VP6DI DXpedition
that racked up an estimated 40,000 QSOs, North Korea
moved
back into its long-held slot as the most-wanted DXCC
entity. North Korea was added to the DXCC list in
1991, but
actual amateur operations from there have been few and
far between. The most recent was the brief P51BH
operation
by Martti Laine, OH2BH, in 1999, which netted just 263
contacts with the rarest entity. Laine was the first
to activate
North Korea in 1995, when a demonstration operation
worked just a handful of contacts. "
73,
Jay/AF2C
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