SEOUL: North Korea is evading UN sanctions to cash in on soaring domestic demand for smartphones, using low-cost hardware imports to generate significant income for the regime, according to defectors, experts and an analysis of North Korean-made phones.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has endorsed wireless networks, some reportedly built with the help of China's Huawei Technologies, and local mobile phone brands through public speeches and a tour to a mobile phone factory reported by state media.Basic North Korean phones typically cost between US$100 and US$400 at state stores or private markets, experts and defectors say. Subscriptions to mobile carriers are registered at the telecom ministry's stores.
Downloading or transferring files is severely restricted. Reuters found a warning pop-up when installing an"unidentified programme" on the Pyongyang 2418 smartphone stating:"If you install illegal programmes, your phone can malfunction or data will get destroyed." When a user accesses illegal or non-state approved media, an alert is generated and stored inside the phone. A modified version of Android also conducts surveillance and tracks users, Hacker House said.TOOL FOR BUSINESS
“It turned out we could make way more money than our official salaries," said Choi, who has since defected to South Korea, declining to give her full name for fear of retribution against relatives still in North Korea. The Pyongyang 2423 smartphone manufactured last year featured Mediatek's MT6737 chipset and a slot for one SIM card and one memory card. The memory card's serial number showed it was produced by Japanese chip-maker Toshiba .