14 DAY TRIAL // In a bid to prove just how serious it is about space exploration, North Korea has just unveiled a new name and logo for its space agency. The organization is called Kukgaujugaebalkuk in Korean, which translates into the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA), an acronym that means “nothing” in Spanish. This is weird if you think about the fact that North Korea and Cuba are allies.
The logo included in the new face-lift is reminiscent of NASA's older logos, inspired by the optimism felt in the United States throughout the golden days of the Space Age. Even the placement of the word NADA and their very shape look a lot like what the American space agency used decades ago. The new changes were carried out to correspond to the agency's first anniversary.
“Seen in the lower part of the globe-shaped dark blue emblem are white-colored letters ‘Kukgaujugaebalkuk’ […] in Korean and in its upper part light blue-colored letters ‘DPRK’ with the Great Bear above them. Printed in its middle are white-colored letters ‘NADA’ in English,” Pyongyang state officials said in a statement announcing the change.
The acronym DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The Great Bear is the common name for the famous Ursa Major constellation, which is home to the Big Dipper.
According to the same statement, NADA will help turn North Korea “into a space power, fully exercising its right to peaceful development of the space on a legal basis.” The country, currently battling famine, oppression and increased international pressure, has been adamant in having its raising technological and military ambitions recognized by the rest of the world, WSJ reports.