North Korea is now requiring DVD player owners to register their devices with state-run service centers. A Daily NK source said the move is part of a broader push to tighten media surveillance in 2026.
Officials have framed the measure as an effort to block the viewing of illegally copied videos. But internally, some see it as a way to strengthen ideological control over North Korean people, according to a source in South Hamgyong province who spoke to Daily NK on Monday.
Since last month, technical service centers in Tanchon have been registering users of the Mokran High-Definition DVD Player, a domestically produced device. Tanchon is a mining city in South Hamgyong province. Technical service centers are state-run facilities that handle electronics repairs and maintenance. The centers are linking each user’s personal information with device data to build an integrated management system, the source said.
The centers previously sent mobile phone text messages notifying people about the registration campaign. Local residents were given a set period to visit a center and complete the process, according to the source.
“Users must bring their device and a state-issued identification card to the nearest technical service center to register, and only one user can be registered per device,” the source said. “Devices that are not registered will no longer be able to play videos.”
Service centers have also promoted the drive by offering registered users priority access to video content distributed by Mokran Gwangmyong Technology. Free video CDs are also being handed out, in an apparent effort to encourage more people to sign up, the source added.
State-run centers frame drive as public convenience
The source said the initiative appears aimed at giving the state direct oversight of both devices and users. Officials, however, describe it publicly as a way to streamline technical services for public convenience.
“On the surface, it looks like the state is organizing technical services for the convenience of North Korean people,” the source said. “But in reality, this is a measure for the state to directly manage devices and users and block the viewing and distribution of illegally copied videos at the source.”
North Korea has steadily expanded crackdowns on the viewing and distribution of illegal foreign videos in recent years. Authorities are increasingly treating any unregistered DVD player as evidence of intent to break the law, the source said.
North Korean people are also growing wary of lending their devices to others. Many are reluctant to insert outside CDs or USB drives loaded with illegally copied content, since they know their device is now tied to their identity in a state registry, according to the source. The psychological effect appears to be encouraging people to police their own viewing habits, reducing the need for direct crackdowns by authorities.
“Previously, the focus of enforcement was on monitoring what content people were watching on their devices,” the source said. “Now the scope of control has expanded to managing the devices themselves.” The source added that North Korean people increasingly view the campaign as an effort to bring both video viewing and playback devices under direct state management.
The expanding role of technical service centers, once focused solely on repairs, is transforming them into surveillance bodies, the source said. “As service centers take on the job of registering and managing users’ information, they are effectively becoming another instrument of control,” the source said. “They are likely to become yet another institution for monitoring the population.”
Reporting from inside North Korea
Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media, satellite imagery, or defector accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.
Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital offense in North Korea — discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report on developments other outlets cannot access: market trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.
Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what’s happening inside one of the world’s most closed societies.
