North Korea’s government has decided to exhibit leniency in regards to its citizens’ cell phone usage — but only so it can spy on them.
A report funded by the US government has revealed the country’s use of cellular technology to monitor its citizens, with an increase on cell phone usage and broader internet access granting Korean officials the ability to more closely monitor the behavior of its population. Rather than discouraging citizens from making use of hardware such as cell phones and tablets, the government has instead researched and developed sophisticated technology that allows them to discretely keep track of those using them against their knowledge.
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Nat Kretchun, the author of the report, told Reuters: “By giving citizens new networked technologies like cell phones and tablets, the government is able to automatically censor unsanctioned content and observe everything citizens are doing on their devices remotely. The authorities have found ingenious ways to turn those new technologies against the North Korean people who are adopting them.”
The North Korean army is working with the government to monitor citizens using their cell phones. (Image Credit: Ed Jones / Getty Images)
The official phone network of North Korea, Koryolink, has around 3 million subscribers, and the government’s control over this network has granted them unprecedented knowledge into many facets of its citizens’ lives. In order to combat this state surveillance, some citizens are reportedly using Chinese cell phones that do not carry the network in order to avoid being monitored.
The report features statements from a number of North Korean defectors, who have spoken out against the surveillance methods employed by the “Hermit Kingdom.” According to these defectors, the Koryolink network is also used to disseminate North Korean propaganda, with network calls and data being monitored by eight different government agencies.
There have been a number of reports in recent months regarding North Korea’s increased use of the internet, with a leak last September revealing a list of the country’s government-run websites containing anti-US propaganda. This was followed by the news that the country had employed a team of internet commenters to spread false rumors about their staunch rivals South Korea.
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