Smuggled North Korean Phone Reveals Extreme Censorship, Surveillance: "Screenshot Every 5 Min"
A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea has revealed fresh insights into the extent of censorship and surveillance that the Kim Jong Un regime oversees in the hermit nation. The device, obtained by BBC in late 2024 via defector networks or underground routes, and analysed by tech experts, showed that nearly all smartphones run a modified version of Android.
These devices are embedded with tools that aim to enforce the state's ideology, perpetuate the hate campaign against neighbouring South Korea and monitor every movement made by its citizens in the online sphere.
Akin to the way North Korea operates as a country in seclusion, internet access is completely blocked on the phone. Instead, the users are restricted to a closed intranet system known as Kwangmyong, which hosts only state-approved content and offers no connection to the outside world.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the phone is its automatic rewriting of content. For instance, the word 'oppa' -- widely used in South Korean popular culture to refer to boyfriends is automatically corrected to 'comrade' on North Korean smartphones. A warning is also issued when the word is used, stating: 'This word can only be used to describe your siblings.'
Similarly, typing 'South Korea' in the phone results in the phrase being automatically changed to "puppet state" -- North Korea's official name for the South.
🇰🇵 A phone belonging to a North Korean citizen was seized.
- When typing 'South Korea' on the keyboard, it changes to 'Puppet State.'
- Every 5 minutes, a screenshot is taken and sent to the government. pic.twitter.com/XRz4FPwReK
— Foster 🦅🇳🇬🏴 (@F_JONHSON) June 1, 2025
The investigation also revealed that a screenshot of the phone screen is taken every five minutes and stored in a hidden folder that is inaccessible to users but available to state authorities for surveillance purposes. Altering these devices to access external content is considered a serious criminal offence.
The hostilities between North and South Korea have been widely reported. For decades, Pyongyang has demanded that the South cede its sovereignty to it. The three-year Korean War, which started when communist North Korea invaded South Korea, ended in an armistice in 1953 without a peace treaty ever being signed.
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