Inside Kim Jong-Un's North Korea as smuggled smartphone reveals new scary rule
South Korean slang words are banned in North Korea - and the smartphone even takes an undetected screenshot every five minutes, with the images presumably seen by the Communist government
A contraband smartphone from North Korea has laid bare the chilling tactics employed by supreme leader Kim Jong Un to maintain his iron-clad grip over citizens. The seemingly innocuous handset is engineered to suppress any hints of South Korean vernacular and even stealthily snaps a screenshot every five minutes. These covert captures are then stashed away in an inscrutable folder, thought to be monitored by the ruling Communist party.
An attempt to input the term "oppa" - a word that nominally means "older brother" in Korean but has gained romantic connotations in modern South Korea - results in an automatic rewrite to "comrade." The user is promptly reprimanded with a pop-up alerting them that "oppa" is strictly for referring to elder siblings.
Moreover, typing "South Korea" triggers a shocking autocorrect to "puppet state". The device was sneakily transported out of the Hermit Kingdom by Daily NK, a Seoul-based news outlet, last year and unearthed during a BBC probe, reports the Daily Star.
North Korean technology and information specialist Martyn Williams imparted to the UK broadcaster that smartphones have become a crucial tool in Pyongyang's propaganda arsenal.
"Smartphones are now part and parcel of the way North Korea tries to indoctrinate people," he revealed.
This Stimson Center senior fellow residing in Washington, DC, also cautioned that the cloistered nation is increasingly gaining the upper hand in its informational stranglehold
#.
Just this year, Kim elevated the stakes by criminalising the usage of South Korean slang or accents as tantamount to high treason.
'Youth crackdown squads' are reportedly patrolling the streets to monitor young North Koreans. Dissident Kang Gyuri, 24, recounted her experiences of being abruptly stopped and scolded for emulating South Korean fashion and hair.
Fortunately, she managed to flee the oppressive regime by boat in 2023 and now resides in South Korea.
Speaking to the BBC, Kang revealed that the regime's agents would seize her phone to search for any forbidden South Korean terms in her messages.
North Korea outlaws all foreign culture, including television, newspapers, and music. Consequently, reports suggest that thousands of USB drives and micro-SD cards packed with South Korean dramas and K-pop tunes are smuggled across the border monthly, concealed within fruit boxes.
Kang expressed that it was her eventual discovery of life outside North Korea which spurred her decision to defect. She said: "I felt so suffocated, and I suddenly had an urge to leave.
"I used to think it was normal that the state restricted us so much. I thought other countries lived with this control. But then I realised it was only in North Korea."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
North Wales Chronicle
25 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Police launch investigation into NHS hospital heart op deaths
A report by the BBC suggests patients at Castle Hill Hospital near Hull suffered avoidable harm, and alleges that in some cases, death certificates failed to disclose that the surgery contributed to deaths. Humberside Police confirmed to the PA news agency that an investigation into the deaths is in its very early stages and no arrests have been made. Documents seen by the BBC raise concerns about the care of 11 patients who underwent transcatheter aortic valve implantation, which is known as a Tavi procedure. It usually takes between one and two hours and is performed on older patients. Tavi is used to replace damaged valves in the heart in people with aortic stenosis, which causes the aortic valve to narrow. It is less invasive than open heart surgery and involves guiding a new valve to the heart through a thin, flexible tube known as a catheter through a blood vessel in the groin or shoulder. Concerns about Castle Hill Hospital's Tavi mortality rate led to a number of reviews, none of which were made public, according to the BBC. The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) was asked to assess the whole cardiology department in 2020, including two of the Tavi deaths. The report was completed in 2021 and led to a second review by consultants IQ4U. This recommended a third review of all 11 deaths, which was carried out by the RCP and completed last year, reports suggest. Some 10 deaths happened between October 2019 and March 2022 while one took place in May 2023. The final review highlighted poor clinical decision-making in one male patient, which included the incorrect positioning of the Tavi valve. His death certificate also failed to include an accurate description of what had happened, it was reported. There were also criticisms of death certificates issued to two other patients, claiming crucial details were missing. A spokesperson for NHS Humber Health Care Partnership said the hospital's Tavi service 'retains the confidence of the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the regional Integrated Care Board (ICB), the Royal College of Physicians, and the trust'. They added that the three separate external reviews have 'shown that mortality rates associated with Tavi are similar to national mortality rates over a four-year period'. 'The Royal College report concluded that the Tavi service is essential for the Humber and North Yorkshire region and needs to be expanded,' they added. 'It stated however that the design of the service should be reviewed and invested in. The report offered a number of actions for improvement and we have delivered against all of those since it was shared with us. 'A key improvement has been the dramatic reduction in the length of time patients wait to have their Tavi procedure, which was shown in the Royal College report to have been too long, like many other T I services across England.' The spokesperson said: 'We would never discuss an individual patient case in the public domain but we understand families may have questions and we are happy to answer those directly. 'We have previously written to families who have lost a loved one following Tavi treatment with an invitation to meet and discuss the specific circumstances of their case, and we would reiterate that offer.'
North Wales Chronicle
26 minutes ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Tottenham will only let captain Son Heung-min leave for significant fee
Son was linked with a move to Saudi Arabia two years ago, but rejected advances to stick around for the start of Ange Postecoglou's tenure. Postecoglou subsequently named Son as Spurs captain and last month the South Korean forward led the team to Europa League success to achieve his goal of winning silverware at the club. International grind 🔥 — Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 4, 2025 Speculation over Son's future has been rife during his 10th season at Tottenham and whilst the club triggered a 12-month option in his deal in January, he is set to enter the final year of his contract in July. Son will also turn 33 next month and was affected by injury problems during the 2024-25 campaign, but the Premier League club will only let their talismanic skipper leave for a significant transfer fee, PA understands. Spurs are set to visit South Korea again later this summer for pre-season – the third time in four years they have travelled to Son's homeland to prepare for a new campaign. Even though Son – who is currently on international duty – only managed 11 goals last term, which is his lowest return since his debut season, his global status offers enormous commercial value to the club. Son is not the only key figure with an uncertain future with no clarity over head coach Postecoglou, who remains in the dark as to whether he will get a third season at Tottenham.
Scottish Sun
34 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Clint Eastwood blasts Hollywood in bombshell interview… that he NEVER gave: Star slams Austrian paper over ‘phoney' Q&A
The paper has now cut all ties with the article's writer after the actor's stern response to the interview GOOD, BAD & BS Clint Eastwood blasts Hollywood in bombshell interview… that he NEVER gave: Star slams Austrian paper over 'phoney' Q&A Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) CLINT Eastwood has hit out at an Austrian newspaper for publishing a bombshell interview he claims he never even gave. The 95-year-old acting icon was directly quoted bashing Hollywood in the article - despite him now labelling the Q&A as "phoney". Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 6 Clint Eastwood, 95, has hit out at the Austrian newspaper for the 'phoney' Q&A Credit: Getty 6 Eastwood in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in 1966 Credit: Alamy 6 The supposed interview was published in Kurier, a Vienna-based paper with around 100,000 readers Credit: Worldshop Despite his age meaning his career on the big screen has all but finished, Eastwood's name was brought up again after his comments on the state of the film industry went viral. Kurier, a Vienna-based paper with around 100,000 readers, published a major Q&A spread with the Dirty Harry star on Friday. The main takeaway from the supposed interview was just how much Eastwood despised how reliant Hollywood has become on sequels and franchises. One of Eastwood's responses to a journalist's question said: 'I long for the good old days when screenwriters wrote movies like Casablanca in small bungalows on the studio lot. read more in Clint Eastwood SAD LOSS What we know about Clint Eastwood's late partner Christina Sandera "When everyone had a new idea. 'We live in an era of remakes and franchises. I've shot sequels three times, but I haven't been interested in that for a long while. "My philosophy is: do something new or stay at home.' The answer stirred up days of debates from film buffs who argued both sides of the fence. But Eastwood soon chimed in on the argument himself as he blasted the original interview as 'entirely phony". He claims he has never given those comments to Kurier and hasn't been interviewed by anyone in the past few weeks. Clint Eastwood attends the 20th Annual AFI awards The paper's editor has since conceded the quotes were in fact not from a formal interview with Eastwood who turned 95 last month. Instead, they were repackaged by a writer who had spoken to the actor at more than a dozen media events in the past. Elisabeth Sereda, a US-based Austrian journalist, had 'convincingly explained" to editor Martin Gebhart that her and Eastwood have met on 18 occasions at round table media events. This meant the quotes were a compilation of statements made by the actor over the years. But Gebhart did admit that the way the article was presented as a tell-it-all exclusive chat went against his quality standards. He then said he will no longer work with the Sereda as of a result. The story has also since been withdrawn from the paper's website entirely. Gebhart said: 'Even though no quotes were fabricated, the interviews are documented, and the accusation of fabrication can be refuted, we will no longer work with the author in the future." Michael Schumacher fake AI interview torment MICHAEL Schumacher's family were paid £170,000 in compensation after a magazine published a fake AI-generated interview with the F1 racing legend. German publication Die Aktuelle claimed last April to have secured a 'world exclusive' with the severely injured Ferrari great – who has not been seen in public since his 2013 skiing accident. In a two-page spread, promoted with a picture of Schumacher, it claimed the seven-time F1 champ had said 'My life has totally changed'. It promised it was not a story based on "half-sentences from friends" but it's "the incredible interview" with the F1 star with "redeeming answers to the most burning questions that the whole world has been asking for so long." The rest of the article was written in Q&A form, with an AI chatbot designed to mimic celebrities making up the answers Michael would supposedly give. The bot even spoke about the racing hero's physical condition, family and future recovery prospects. Die Aktuelle only admitted the quotes, which used graphic details to describe his injuries, were written by a chatbot in a note on the inside pages. The shameless interview just goes to show how "poisoned" bots can be weaponised, an expert warned. Sereda is known for publishing celebrity based articles for Kurier and other Austrian media. She is also a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and listed as a voting member on the website of the Golden Globes. After Eastwood's admission, Jude Law's team also made similar comments on Sereda's work. She had published an interview claiming to be from the English actor earlier this year. Sources close to Law said no interview has ever taken place and that the only time those direct quotes would have been made would have been at a press conference at the Toronto international film festival last year. Eastwood is still working as a director with his most recent movie being Juror #2 which was released in November last year. He has long been an influential figure in Hollywood for bis longevity and ability. Since breaking through with the 1964 film of A Fistful of Dollars, Eastwood has continued as a leading man for decades. He has even received the ultimate honour as a director through two Academy Award's for best director with 1992's Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby in 2005. 6 Eastwood in 2019 Credit: Getty 6 The acting legend in Dirty Harry Credit: Getty
