N. Korea allows visitors to bring mobile phones

By Kim Young-jin

North Korea is allowing foreign visitors to bring cellular phones on which they can make international calls into the country, a report said.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency reported that since Jan. 7, visitors have been allowed to register their phones with customs and take them into the country, citing a technician with Koryolink, a venture between the North and Egyptian telecommunications firm Orascom.

Cell phone use in the repressive state has surged following the 2008 establishment of the Koryolink 3G network that now has over 1.5 million subscribers. Previously, handsets were held by customs authorities when foreigners entered the country.

Phone owners can purchase a subscriber identity module (SIM) card for around $67 to make international calls.

The Egyptian technician added that a mobile Internet service is awaiting approval from the North.

The isolated state operates at least two tiers of service and there is a barrier between local North Korean users and foreigners, according to website North Korea Tech.

The technician said the development had nothing to do with the recent high-profile visit of Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, who urged the Kim Jong-un regime to open up to the Internet.

While Pyongyang maintains strict control over information, it has been moving to modernize its economy and has been pushing technology as a growth engine.

The country recently introduced a tablet called Samjiyeon, as well as touch-screen phones.

The North’s economy remains hobbled due to a chronic lack of capital and its efforts to attract foreign investment remain hampered by international sanctions and a dubious reputation over its nuclear weapons programs.

Still, watchers say the North has quietly built up its information technology sector with droves of technicians trained in areas including animation and game design to security, hoping this will drive future growth.