The North Korean government has launched a crackdown on smuggled Chinese-made smartwatches that can connect to Chinese mobile networks using USIM cards. Authorities are targeting users of the devices, which can make calls and send messages when equipped with Chinese telecom USIM cards, after they were smuggled into the country via Sinuiju.
A North Pyongan province source revealed on Tuesday that while the smartwatches were initially smuggled for their Bluetooth connectivity with smartphones, authorities now consider them a security threat. The devices can independently connect to the outside world via Chinese USIM cards, enabling phone calls, text messages, and access to WeChat, a Chinese messaging app.
When North Korean authorities officially import Chinese-made electronic devices, they typically ask Chinese companies to change the operating system to Korean and block features not allowed in North Korea.
However, in recent months, Chinese-made electronics have been smuggled into North Korea and circulated among the population without these precautions.
“There is inevitably a high demand for smuggled products because of their low prices. But now that the authorities have learned that products that support a USIM card are in circulation, people who have bought and sold the watches will face severe consequences if they’re caught by the authorities,” the source said.
Anyone caught with a device with a USIM port will be required to surrender the device, regardless of their reason for possessing it. In some cases, those individuals are detained by state security agents and questioned about why they purchased the smartwatch, who they talked to on the phone, and whether they made contact with the outside world, the source said.
“The fact is that many North Koreans buy and use these products without knowing what features they have because they can’t properly understand the Chinese-language instruction manual. Even if an individual can prove that they only used the smartwatch with a Bluetooth connection without inserting a USIM card, they can still be punished for simply having a USIM-enabled device,” the source said.
Government paranoia run wild
The North Korean authorities appear to be paranoid about the use of USIM-enabled smartwatches because of the latent risk of users making contact with the outside world.
Some merchants who sold Chinese-made smartwatches in Sinuiju were recently brought in for questioning by the city’s state security department. One by one, locals who bought smartwatches from these merchants are being identified and targeted for questioning, the source said.
The city’s state security agents are interrogating the detained merchants about the number of smartwatches they sold and information about the buyers. The interrogations also focus on whether the merchants intentionally sold USIM-enabled devices.
However, when authorities question people who bought the smartwatches, they ask about the devices’ recording capabilities without informing users that the smartwatches support USIM cards.
“Agents are avoiding any mention of this feature because it would amount to bringing it to the attention of users who are completely unaware that their device supports USIM cards,” the source said.
The Daily NK works with a network of sources in North Korea, China, and elsewhere. For security reasons, their identities remain anonymous.
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