Smuggled North Korean Smartphone Reveals Intensive Government Censorship

A smartphone smuggled out of North Korea in late 2024 reveals the regime's extreme digital censorship and control measures under leader Kim Jong Un. The device, indistinguishable externally from normal phones, is heavily localized and programmed to auto-correct banned words, such as changing the South Korean slang "oppa" to "comrade" and replacing "South Korea" with "puppet state." It also covertly takes screenshots every five minutes, storing them in a hidden folder presumably accessible to North Korean authorities. Experts like Martyn Williams from the Stimson Center highlight that smartphones have become tools for indoctrination within the country, especially after Kim Jong Un criminalized the use of South Korean phrases and accent in 2023. Additionally, youth crackdown squads monitor young people for South Korean cultural influences, reflecting a broader crackdown on dissent and cultural expression. This smuggled phone offers rare insight into the regime's Orwellian tactics to maintain ideological control over its citizens.