SEOUL (AFP) - Netflix is poking fun at North Korea's recent foray into on-demand TV, calling itself a "Manbang knockoff" on its Twitter bio.

The tongue-in-cheek change to the Netflix US bio comes after Pyongyang proudly unveiled a video streaming service called Manbang ("Everywhere"), which was instantly described as a Netflix-style service by Western media.

The system allows viewers with some sort of Internet access to enjoy the highly-propagandised output of its four state-run TV channels at their leisure.

A programme introducing the service that aired on Korean Central Television (KCTV) last week said it was available to any institute, company or household that subscribes to North Korea's state-operated Intranet.

The number of intranet subscribers in North Korea is unknown, but KCTV said "hundreds" of people had signed up to the Manbang service in Sinuiju - one of three cities where the system is being rolled out.

Set up in 2000, the intranet only allows access to selected, government-approved websites and mostly functions as a communication platform between government agencies, universities, industry and commerce.

Outside of hotels catering to foreigners, access to the full-blown Internet in North Korea is for the super-elite only - a few hundred people or maybe 1,000 at the most.