A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea has unveiled a dystopian secret: technology that rewrites words to control what citizens can express. This device, obtained in late 2024, exposes Kim Jong-un’s chilling use of surveillance and censorship to manipulate his people, making it a gripping window into one of the world’s most secretive regimes.
The phone, likely spirited across the Chinese border by defectors or underground networks, reached analysts who uncovered its alarming capabilities.
“We’ve got hold of this phone that was smuggled out of North Korea last year, and it shows some of the surprising lengths the regime is now going to to censor information,”
Said a reporter for the BBC, who obtained the device. North Korea’s smartphones, running a modified Android system, are rigged to enforce state ideology. Typing “oppa,” a South Korean slang term for boyfriend, instantly switches to “comrade,” with a warning that reads,
“This word can only be used to describe your siblings,”
The BBC reporter noted. Similarly, entering “namhan” (South Korea) changed it to “puppet state,” which was the regime’s term for its rival.
“In this folder, we can see that the phone is taking a screenshot every five minutes or so, but the user can’t open these files. Only the authorities can,”
The reporter added that the device monitors user activity to catch forbidden behavior.
North Korea’s obsession with controlling information is stark. Citizens are blocked from the global internet, confined to a state-run intranet called Kwangmyong that delivers only government-approved content. Smartphones, far from being tools of freedom, are instruments of control.
“Smartphones are now part and parcel of the way North Korea tries to indoctrinate people,”
Said Martyn Williams, a senior fellow at the Stimson Center and North Korea Tech expert. He emphasized the regime’s motive:
“The reason for this control is that so much of the mythology around the Kim family is made up. A lot of what they tell people is lies.”
A 2023 software update further tightened restrictions, preventing users from sharing photos or videos and using a digital certificate system to delete unauthorized files. This made it nearly impossible to access smuggled South Korean TV shows that reveal freedom and prosperity across the border.
Beyond technology, the regime enforces its grip on the ground. “Youth crackdown squads” patrol streets to punish anyone using South Korean slang or mimicking their fashion, a reporter for the BBC observed. One defector shared a chilling story of a friend caught humming a South Korean K-pop song, facing interrogation and public shaming for “ideological deviance.” These measures reflect Kim Jong-un’s fear of cultural infiltration, as he bans South Korean dramas that contrast North Korea’s hardships with South Korea’s wealth.
“North Korea blocks information from outside the country, and these phones don’t have access to the internet,”
The BBC reporter explained, noting that smuggled media aims
“to show North Koreans how rich South Korea is and how much freedom people have here to try to undermine the regime.”
The findings of the smuggled phone spotlight Kim Jong-un’s precarious situation. Despite projecting strength through projects like new tourist resorts, North Korea ranks last in global press freedom, with economic struggles and food shortages driving some to risk everything for forbidden media.
“North Korea is also using ‘youth crackdown squads’ to patrol the streets in search of people using South Korean slang or styles,”
The reporter stated, underscoring the regime’s paranoia. Defectors report that USB drives loaded with K-dramas are traded on the black market, but the phone’s surveillance features, like the “Trace Viewer” app that takes random screenshots, make such acts perilous.
“They can see when people are looking at or sharing things that they’re not supposed to,”
The reporter warned.
This phone’s journey out of North Korea, likely through dangerous border crossings involving bribes, highlights the courage of those defying the regime. With over 55 smartphone models cataloged, all equipped with surveillance tools, the device is a stark symbol of control.
“Kim Jong-un has banned these [South Korean] shows,”
The BBC reporter noted the regime’s desperate bid to block outside influence.
As North Korea wages its “information war,” this smuggled phone reveals a truth Kim wants hidden: in his world, even words are under lock and key.
Courtesy: BBC.com
