Tag: mobile phones
North Korea foreign trade shifts to state control
North Korea is overhauling its foreign trade system to route transactions only through official state trade organizations this year. Authorities have banned individual traders...
North Korea quietly hikes phone prices at the border
North Korea has quietly raised the prices of two mobile phone models sold in four border provinces, adding 500 Chinese yuan (about $74) to...
North Koreans turn to underground app for banned information
North Korean authorities caught a university student in Hamhung, South Hamgyong province, this July for using illicit software that opens access to unauthorized foreign...
Two arrested in Wonsan for smishing, voice phishing crimes targeting donju
North Korea has arrested two people in Wonsan, a city in Kangwon province, in mid-July 2026. Investigators say the pair used a "smishing" scheme,...
North Korea cracks down on youths using South Korean-style word for...
Authorities in Chongjin, North Hamgyong province, summoned three young people to a provincial youth league office this month over their use of the South...
Wealthy North Korean youth hide old players to dodge crackdowns
Young North Koreans from wealthy families are deliberately buying old, worn-out video players instead of newer models. They can easily afford better devices. Instead,...
North Korea bans mobile phones for children under 14
North Korea's South Pyongan province issued a sweeping ban on mobile phone possession by children under 14 in June 2026, threatening parents and teachers...
North Korea ramps up phone surveillance, stoking fear among traders
North Korean authorities in North Pyongan province have sharply intensified phone surveillance in 2026, intercepting both landline and mobile calls to crack down on...
North Korea intensifies Chinese mobile phone crackdown ahead of half-year performance...
Security agents in North Korea's border regions have intensified efforts to catch people using Chinese mobile phones, enlisting ordinary citizens alongside informants to monitor...
High school students in North Korea rack up bank debt via...
North Korean high school students are taking out bank loans through their mobile phones without their parents' knowledge, spending the money on smartphone games...
