North Korea may have begun preparations to restart trade with China, but more and more people in the country are facing difficulties contacting the outside world because the authorities are jamming Chinese mobile phone signals.
A source in Yanggang Province told Daily NK last Thursday that the signals of Chinese mobile phones have been jammed in Hyesan since mid-December.
“The provincial branch of the Ministry of State Security’s radio detection bureau is deploying radio interference so that phones can’t receive signals from the Chinese side,” he said.
According to the source, Yanggang Province’s branch of the Ministry of State Security began full-scale deployment of jamming equipment to jam Chinese mobile phone signals on Dec. 12.
REMITTANCE BROKERS FACE CHALLENGES GIVEN RELIANCE ON CELL PHONES
This has frustrated many people in the country who make their living facilitating remittances from South Korea.
In fact, one person in Hyesan told Daily NK that he tried to call China on Dec. 14 to receive money from someone in that country, but failed.
“With the phones suddenly not getting reception, some people are asking around about buying SIM cards because they mistakenly believe their cards are not working,” the man said.
“People who make money transferring cash to the families of defectors are even more worried [about the situation],” he continued. “[The brokers] first provide the families with money out of their own pocket, and receive the client’s money only after the defectors receive a voicemail with their family’s situation and confirmation that they got the money. [The brokers] are worried that they won’t get their money if the phones don’t work.”
North Korean authorities have regularly engaged in signal jamming to stop defections, border crossings and phone calls with the outside world in the region bordering China.
Since the start of the Kim Jong Un regime, the authorities have worked hard to stop people from getting information from the outside world by deploying large-scale inspection teams and increasing their arsenal of jamming equipment.
However, intensifying jamming efforts could interfere with the ability of Chinese people across the border to make phone calls, which could then lead to diplomatic friction with Beijing. As a result, North Korean authorities had decided to change tack and use radio detectors to ferret out users of Chinese-made mobile phones.
Coming ahead of moves to restart trade with China, the latest effort to bolster jamming efforts may be a test of the government’s system of domestic control.
Indeed, the government might be worried that its strategy to promote internal unity by blocking the inflow of outside information could falter if smuggling and cross-border exchanges expand due to people’s communication with the outside world.
RUMORS OF NEW JAMMING EQUIPMENT UPSETTING TO SOME
Daily NK’s source inside the country said rumors of the deployment of new jamming equipment have amplified local discontent.
“People are outraged at the behavior of the government, particularly given that it spends money on these machines while ignoring the fact that people are living in hell amid starvation and freezing weather,” he said.
“People are now taking interest in how long the jamming will last,” he continued, adding, “Given the fact that the Hyesan customs house is expected to open soon, people’s ability to earn money will be negatively impacted if they can’t talk to people in China.”
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