Tightening U.N. sanctions and an inability to freely access the Internet are inhibiting the work of North Korean scientists, Nobel Prize laureates who recently visited the country said Saturday. Medicine prize winner Richard Roberts, economics prize winner Finn Kydland and chemistry prize winner Aaron Ciechanover told reporters in Beijing that they hoped their weeklong visit to North Korea would promote further scientific and educational exchanges with the country despite its isolation. The delegation's visit came as North Korea's ruling Workers' Party was preparing to bestow its top title on leader Kim Jong Un, although the three said they had no contact with the country's top leadership. Roberts said that, while North Korea's tight restrictions on the global Internet prevent most scientists from collaborating with colleagues in other countries or accessing the latest scientific literature, he sensed a strong desire for more international exchanges. A lack of modern scientific equipment due to years of sanctions and outdated methodologies have left North Korean scientists trailing far behind their foreign counterparts, said Roberts, who is research director at New England Biolabs in Boston.

Source: ABC News May 07, 2016 04:48 UTC