North Korean younger couples are opting for mobile phones when it comes to engagement gifts, knocking out the conventional ��couple ring option�� that had previously been so popular. 

��In small and mid-sized cities, the top-ranking present for tying the knot is no question the mobile phone. After that, come couple rings,�� a source based in North Hamgyung Province told the Daily NK on Friday. She went on to note that unlike many cultures, giving engagement rings and exchanging weddings bands are not common practices in North Korea.

In the North, mobile phones have become a symbol of the younger generation. The source explained that they are popular as gifts for to-be-wed couples because they enable them to chat like they are in the same room even though they may be in different locations. Because of this, a younger woman wielding a mobile phone leads most to assume she is either soon to be married or in a serious relationship.

��Apart from women in affluent families, if you��re from a poor family or single, it��s hard to own a mobile phone,�� the source elaborated. ��Women have so much to invest in, like household goods, cosmetics, and clothes that it��s hard for them to think about getting one of those devices.��

She added,��Compared to local [North Korean] phones, foreign [South Korean] handsets look fancier, and smart phones are especially popular.��

In the North, there are three types of handsets: the flip phone, the slide version, and the touch-screen model.

Mobile phones [Orascom Telecom Media and Technology models] sold at local telecom device shops in every region of the North fetch 200-300 USD [1USD = 8,000 KPW], while the North Korea-made ��Arirang Touch Phone [smartphone]�� goes for 400 USD, according to a survey conducted in June by the Daily NK.

Given 1 kg of rice in the marketplace sells for roughly 6,500 KPW, as of Oct. 15th, the devices come with a hefty price tag. Because of this, children of Party cadres and the upper, middle classes exchange these phones as gifts after getting engaged, the source explained.

The number of North Korean mobile users has been on a continual rise, and as of May last year, it is said to have surpassed the 2 million subscriber mark, meaning that roughly one out of 12 people in the country own a mobile device.