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.
United Nations sanctions imposed in 2017 because of the North's weapons programmes prohibit imports of mobile phone hardware. While those prices are comparable to or higher than what mobile phone customers pay in other countries, North Koreans earn an average of about US$100 per month, only about 4 per cent of their southern neighbours, according to South Korean government data.
Apps such as maps, games and an English dictionary show they are developed by North Korean engineers at state-run enterprises or state universities. She used the phone to help successfully run a retail business selling Chinese clothes and shampoos, arranging deliveries from wholesalers. SANCTIONS-BUSTING The two Pyongyang-branded smartphones examined by Reuters are powered by chips from Taiwan's MediaTek and run a version of Google's Android operating system, along with the North Korean security software. Ads for an Arirang-branded handset also claimed to use MediaTek chips.
Mediatek said in a statement to Reuters it had not shipped any products to North Korea, and was in full compliance with sanctions. Toshiba also said the company had no business with North Korea."North Korea cannot make phones without using foreign components and technology," said Kim, the researcher."That means it is violating sanctions to keep running the business."
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