By Kim Young-jin
The number of North Koreans with state-approved cell phones has surpassed the 1 million mark, a report said Friday, as citizens of the isolated state continue to embrace the mobile communication trend.
Orascom Telecom, the Egypt-based provider of the North’s mobile network, released the latest number in a regulatory filing, Bloomberg said. The number rose from some 300,000 a year ago.
The latest figures underscore the steadily-growing popularity of the phones since Orascom launched the service in 2008. The increased communication access has raised eyebrows given Pyongyang’s long-held clampdown on information flow.
The firm operates the services through Koyrolink, its joint venture with the North. Though international calls are believed to be banned, defectors here say the phones greatly increase the people’s ability to communicate within the country.
Meanwhile, the North’s state media reported that Orascom head Naguib Sawiris met with Kim Yong-nam, chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, for talks, without further elaborating.
Illustrating the thirst for the phones, the growth comes amid projections that the phones cost an average of $350 while the average monthly salary comes to about $15 in the reclusive nation.
Cell phone use is said to be predominant in Pyongyang, where a recent study said some 60 percent of residents between 20 and 50 years old were users. Those in the capital are said to enjoy much more modern conditions than those in rural areas.
The North launched a mobile network in 2002 but reportedly halted its operation following a 2004 explosion at a train station that was suspected of being an attack on the regime.
The service, while strictly monitored, has raised the prospect of a freer flow of information.
Analysts suggest that such advances in technology present a double-edged sword for the authoritarian regime. While it increases the regime’s ability to monitor conversations, some have speculated it could give citizens the tools to galvanize a popular revolution similar to recent examples in the Middle East.
Pyongyang is known as one of the worst repressors of information in the world.
Only high-level officials have access to the Internet and random checks on hard drives for banned information are commonplace.
Despite its hobbled economy, the North has been pushing to modernize its capital in time for the 100th anniversary of the birth of country founder Kim Il-sung, by which time it has promised to emerge as a “strong and prosperous state.”