‘Screenshot every 5 min', no 'oppa': Smuggled phone gives chilling glimpse of North Korea regime
A phone smuggled out of North Korea last year has uncovered fresh evidence of the lengths Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's regime is going to for censoring information from outside the country and suppressing cultural influence from South Korea.
The device, obtained in 2024 and recently analysed by the BBC, shows that Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un's government is not only banning foreign media like South Korean TV dramas, but is also using technology to police the very language North Koreans use.
While phones in North Korea do not have access to the internet, South Korean shows and entertainment are still being covertly smuggled across the border—aimed at revealing the freedoms and prosperity of life in the neighbouring country. In response, the regime has intensified its crackdown.
Not just this, footage from the smuggled phone demonstrates how the North Korean government also automatically censors common South Korean slang.
For instance, when users type 'oppa'—a popular South Korean term used by women to refer to their boyfriends or older brothers—the phone changes it to 'comrade' and issues a warning: 'This word can only be used to describe your siblings.'
Typing 'South Korea' into the phone results in the phrase being automatically altered to 'puppet state'—the regime's official term for the South.
Perhaps most troublingly, the phone smuggled out of North Korea was taking automatically taking screenshots every five minutes, without the user's knowledge.
These image files are hidden from the user but accessible to authorities only, giving them a powerful surveillance tool to monitor behavior and punish those consuming banned content.
The revelations offer a rare and chilling glimpse into how North Korea's authoritarian regime is using technology not only to isolate its citizens from the outside world, but also to shape the very way they think and speak.
Kim Jong Un's regime is known to be one of the most secretive and repressive in the world, marked by absolute control over nearly every aspect of life in North Korea.
Since taking power in 2011, Kim Jong Un has maintained an iron grip through widespread surveillance, harsh punishments for dissent, and a strict ban on outside information.
The regime favours ideological loyalty and uses state propaganda to glorify Kim Jong Un while demonising foreign influence, especially from South Korea and the West.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
Lee Jae-myung's rise from poverty to brink of South Korean presidency
Lee Jae-myung (AP) SEOUL: Lawsuits, scandals, armed troops and a knife-wielding attacker all failed to deter Lee Jae-myung's ascendancy from sweatshop worker to the cusp of South Korea's presidency. After losing by a razor-thin margin in 2022, the Democratic Party candidate has returned to the ballot, and is now poised to replace the political rival he was instrumental in unseating. Opponents decry Lee, 60, for his populist style. But his rags-to-riches personal story sets him apart from many of South Korea's political elite. After dropping out of school to work at a factory to support his family, he suffered a disabling elbow injury in an industrial accident. He earned a scholarship to study law and passed the bar to become an attorney. Lee has used this origin story to cultivate a loyal support base and frame himself as understanding the struggles of the underprivileged. "You can worry about people outside shivering in the cold while you sit in your warm living room," Lee told AFP in a 2022 interview. "But you can never really understand their pain." Polls suggest the margin between Lee and his closest challenger, conservative Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, narrowed in recent days, with some showing a single-digit margin. But Lee has consistently maintained his lead since the race was triggered by the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief declaration of martial law in December. Live-streaming a crisis South Korea has experienced a leadership vacuum since lawmakers suspended Yoon for deploying armed troops to parliament in his failed attempt to suspend civilian rule. During the tense minutes following that move, Lee live-streamed his frantic scramble over the perimeter fence as he and other lawmakers rushed to vote down the martial law decree. "It was a race against time," he recalled in an interview with AFP. Lee previously served as mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, for eight years. In that role, he helped shut down what had been the country's largest dog meat market -- ending a trade that had once involved 80,000 canines a year. He later served as governor of Gyeonggi Province, the country's most populous region surrounding the capital, for more than three years. Lee lost his 2022 bid for the presidency to Yoon by one of the smallest margins in South Korean history. In 2024, he was stabbed in the neck by a man posing as a supporter and was airlifted to hospital for emergency surgery. The attacker later confessed that his intention was to kill Lee to prevent him from becoming president. If elected next week, Lee has vowed, among other things, to boost South Korea's artificial intelligence industry, with the goal of making the country one of the top three global leaders in the field. He has also called for holding those involved in the martial law attempt accountable, promising to "bring insurrection elements to justice". During his early days in politics, Lee drew criticism for his confrontational attacks on political opponents. But Kim Hye-kyung, his wife of 34 years with whom he shares two children, insists Lee speaks with "deliberation". "He's someone who's come up from the margins, from the very bottom," she said in a 2017 interview. "Just like how a flea has to jump to be noticed, I hope people can understand and view him in that context." Legal troubles Lee has been dogged by legal troubles of his own, including allegations of corruption tied to a real estate development and violations of election law through the dissemination of false information. He has denied any wrongdoing, insisting the charges are politically motivated. In early May, Seoul's Supreme Court overturned a lower court's acquittal of Lee on election law charges and ordered a retrial. But with the election looming, the Seoul High Court postponed the proceedings until after the June 3 vote. If Lee wins, legal experts say the proceedings would be suspended due to presidential immunity, and would only resume after his single five-year term ends in 2030. Lee's opponents argue the charges are serious enough to disqualify him from running. "With these kinds of corruption allegations, how can you seek public office?" Kim Moon-soo, his main opponent in next week's vote, said during a recent televised debate.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
South Korea's conservative contender Kim Moon-soo emerges from Yoon's shadow
SEOUL: When his conservative South Korean party bowed to show remorse for ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol's disastrous martial law decree, Kim Moon-soo sat alone and resolute in symbolic non-apology. The moment catapulted the labour activist-turned-lawmaker to fame that he now hopes to harness to become South Korea's next president. "He's essentially a presidential candidate that social media gave birth to," Jeongmin Kim, executive director at the Korea Risk Group, told AFP. Internet users dubbed him "stubborn Moon-soo" in approval of the move, which helped drive a small uptick in his beleaguered party's approval ratings. Yet the People Power Party (PPP) -- Yoon's former party -- wasn't always so keen on Kim Moon-soo's candidacy. The PPP selected, unselected, and then selected him again as its nominee in a high-profile bout of infighting. It was symbolic of the turbulence that has rocked the party since Yoon's botched bid to suspend civilian rule in December. On the campaign trail, Kim, 73, has sought to distance himself from the ousted president, who became the second conservative leader to be stripped of office, after Park Geun-hye in 2017. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pés inchados: Experimente isso para ajudar a drenar o fluído do edema A arte do herbalismo Undo Kim offered his first apology "to the people suffering from the consequences of martial law" last month. "Martial law has not only made the economy and domestic politics difficult but has also caused significant challenges in exports and diplomatic relations," he told South Korean media. Korea Risk Group's Jeongmin Kim called the PPP's candidate a "chameleon-like politician capable of political survival". Shift to the right Born into a large family in North Gyeongsang province, about 300 kilometres (185 miles) from Seoul, Kim grew up in poverty after his father's co-signing of a loan plunged them into debt. Kim was politically active by his final year of high school, when he was suspended for protesting against military leader President Park Chung-hee. He attended South Korea's most prestigious university but started working in factories while studying for his degree and organising labour unions. He was arrested twice in the 1980s, first on charges of violating the Anti-Communism Law, and later under the National Security Act. Kim spent more than two-and-a-half years in prison and wrote in his biography about enduring electric shock and water torture. He was pardoned in 1988 and was stunned to find the country thriving. "My prediction that South Korean capitalism would eventually fail proved wrong," Kim wrote in his biography, with the collapse of the Soviet Union also upending his world view and leading him to join the conservative party. Kim was elected to parliament in 1996 and later served two terms as governor of Gyeonggi province, South Korea's most populous region. After being accused but not charged in an abuse of power scandal in 2011, Kim found his footing again among hard-right conservatives. His popularity with his party's hard line was bolstered by his attempt to revise history textbooks in ways seen as favourable to former colonial power Japan, plus a high-profile fine for attending a church service during the Covid-19 pandemic. He was appointed labour minister by Yoon in 2024 and was widely seen as part of the disgraced leader's inner circle. 'Written a miracle' Polls showed Kim trailing by at least 10 percentage points behind the opposition leader Lee Jae-myung and he was unable to convince third-place candidate, Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, to merge forces and make the election competitive. With polls opening on Tuesday, "the question is to what extent can candidate Kim Moon-soo narrow the gap", said Heo Jin-jae, research director at Gallup Korea. "Any remarks that offend public sentiment could cost the candidates votes," Heo said. Another key question is whether he can win over moderates. "The conservative base in South Korea is ideologically broad and Kim Moon-soo's political character is quite distinct," Kang Joo-hyun, a professor at Sookmyung Women's University, told AFP. "Among moderates or pragmatists on the right, there's hesitation about whether they can fully back him," said Kang. In response to the sceptics, Kim recently recalled his last-minute victory in 1996, when he successfully ran for parliament. "You didn't think I would become the (final) candidate, did you? Neither did I," Kim told reporters on his first day of campaigning. "But we have written a miracle."
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
South Korea votes for new president after martial law turmoil
S EOUL: South Koreans will vote Tuesday for a new president, capping six months of political upheaval following ex-leader Yoon Suk Yeol's disastrous declaration of martial law. Millions have already cast their ballots in the snap election, with more than a third of registered voters doing so last week during two days of early voting, the National Election Commission said. All major polls have put liberal Lee Jae-myung well ahead, with the latest Gallup survey showing 49 percent of respondents viewed him as the best candidate. Kim Moon-soo, from the conservative People Power Party (PPP) -- Yoon's former party -- trailed Lee on 35 percent. The fallout from martial law, which has left the country effectively leaderless for the first months of US President Donald Trump's second term, is the top concern for voters, experts said. "Polls show the election is largely viewed as a referendum on the previous administration," Kang Joo-hyun, a political science professor at Sookmyung Women's University, told AFP. "What's particularly striking is that the martial law and impeachment crisis not only swayed moderates but also fractured the conservative base." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Todos os idosos deveriam ter um desse no banheiro! Veja só! Evite quedas e escorregões Saiba Mais Undo And analysts say that South Korea's conservative party is in crisis. Yoon's impeachment over a disastrous declaration of martial law, which saw armed soldiers deployed to parliament, made him the second straight conservative president to be stripped of office after Park Geun-hye in 2017. Conservative candidate Kim also failed to convince a third party candidate, Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party, to unify and avoid splitting the right-wing vote. 'Turning point' "Conservative politics was associated with competent governance, but it's now hard to argue that they remain capable," said Kang Won-taek, a political science professor at Seoul National University. Lee's Democratic Party already holds a parliamentary majority and analysts say the fractured conservative base will struggle in opposition unless it can resolve its issues. South Korean presidents serve a single five year term. With a regular presidential election, there is a months-long transition period, and the new leader's term begins at midnight after the predecessor's final day. But in a snap election, the winner becomes president as soon as the National Election Commission ratifies the vote tally. After months of turmoil and a revolving-door of lame-duck acting leaders, many South Koreans are eager for the country to move forward. In Gwangju, spiritual heartland of the South Korean left, Jung Se-yoon, 65, a retired teacher, said the election was a "turning point". "It will take far too long for the country to get back on its feet if we miss this chance," Jung said. Experts said voter turnout was expected to be high. "The focus won't be on whether Lee will win, but on whether he will secure more than 50 percent of the vote," Bae Kang-hoon, co-founder of political think tank Valid. "If he manages to do so, it would give him a significant boost in momentum to govern as president."
