By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
North Korea has revealed that it will tighten the rules on carrying prohibited items such as cell phones into its territory, Seoul's Ministry of Unification said Wednesday.
As a result, visitors to the secretive state will have banned goods seized and immediately sent back to their place of departure, unless they report possession of them in advance.
The notification stipulates that the rule applies to visitors to the inter-Korean industrial complex in Gaeseong, but it is likely that foreigners visiting other places in the North will also have to abide by the regulation.
The Inter-Korean Transit Office started to instruct people visiting the communist state to leave their mobile phones at the office before departure.
Pyongyang had restricted the possession of mobile phones even before it began tightening border controls and the evacuation of South Korean personnel from the industrial complex and tourism enclaves in Gaeseong and Mt. Geumgang on Dec. 1.
But at that time they simply imposed a fine for cell phone possession, and kept the device while the owner traveled around the country, according to a ministry official.
Earlier, North Korea notified that car navigation systems and GPS devices are not allowed when South Korean vehicles enter the industrial site by an overland route.
Following the Dec. 1 measure, the North said it would allow South Koreans to cross the border near the West Coast ― in the area that leads to the complex ― three times a day, except for Sundays and North Korea's national holidays.
No more than 500 South Koreans and 200 vehicles were allowed to pass through the area 19 times a day, but now just 250 people and 150 cars can enter at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. only.