Agents from North Korea’s Ministry of State Security are releasing false information relating to the “strengthening of electronic surveillance equipment,” report sources in North Korea.
The North Korean authorities have been strengthening control over the population as the country holds summits with South Korea, the US and China. This recent development appears related to efforts to prevent North Koreans from using Chinese-made phones, which facilitate contact with the outside world.
“The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is sending out rumors that the latest electronic surveillance equipment has been brought in from China,” said a North Hamgyong Province-based source on May 24.
“The state is spreading these rumors because it’s worried that the people will communicate with defectors or relatives living abroad about the recent summits with the US and South Korea and share that information with others.”
North Korea previously purchased high performance equipment from Germany used to track phone calls in sparsely populated areas like mountains. The country reportedly possesses equipment that can identify the location of a caller in under a minute.
A separate source in North Hamgyong Province noted that the North Korean state has been short of funds to purchase expensive equipment due to continued international sanctions on the country. North Korea would also be in the crosshairs of Chinese authorities if their surveillance equipment impacted calls across the border in China.
Recent rumors about the strengthening of electronic surveillance spread by the authorities are understood to be an attempt by the state to create an atmosphere of fear to prevent outside information from seeping in.
“After hearing these rumors, people who had used Chinese mobile phones frequently are now using them only when absolutely necessarily,” a source in South Hamgyong Province explained. “They typically make calls in areas with few people, but are now being even more cautious because getting caught by the police would cause a lot of trouble for them.”
Some North Koreans have begun to realize the rumors lack credibility as time has passed, the source reported.
“The state has spread such rumors in the past, and there has been a backlash saying that the rumors of new equipment are fake,” said the South Hamgyong Province-based source.
“Regardless, everyone is being cautious.”
