Photo : YONHAP News
The number of mobile phone subscriptions in North Korea has reportedly increased to about seven million in the past two years, and the number of smartphones has surged with the reopening of the North’s borders.
Martyn Williams, a senior fellow with the Stimson Center, delivered the analysis in an article published Tuesday on 38 North, a U.S.-based website that monitors North Korea.
The article said out of the North’s population of some 24 million, the number of mobile phone subscribers rose to between six-and-a-half million and seven million, far more than the estimated one-point-two million fixed-line telephones.
According to the article, the variety of smartphones available in the reclusive state has more than doubled in the last two years and at least ten companies are said to be selling smartphones and feature phones.
The article went on to say that none of the smartphones are made in North Korea and the country depends on Chinese companies for smartphone hardware.
It added that the phones are loaded with a localized version of the Android operating system, connectivity is restricted to approved networks, and specialized software restricts the installation of unapproved apps.