Leaked North Korean phone shows regime's extreme censorship of foreign media – Times of India

A smuggled cell phone from North Korea has revealed new particulars concerning the nation’s strict censorship system, which blocks practically all entry to international content material, particularly something associated to South Korea.Based on a BBC report, North Korean smartphones mechanically censor language and monitor person exercise. Frequent South Korean phrases are altered or corrected, and the telephone takes screenshots each 5 minutes with out the person’s information. These photos are saved in a hidden folder solely accessible to authorities, permitting them to intently monitor customers’ conduct.For instance, the favored South Korean phrase “Oppa,” typically used to check with boyfriends or older male figures, is mechanically corrected to “Comrade.” A warning underneath the keyboard tells customers the phrase can solely be used to check with precise siblings. Equally, typing “South Korea” on a North Korean telephone leads to an automated correction to “Puppet State” —a time period utilized by the regime to painting South Korea as being managed by the USA.Cellphones, radios, and different communication instruments in North Korea are tightly managed. Gadgets are locked to solely obtain state propaganda and are sealed to stop any modifications. Any try to entry exterior info is handled as a felony act. The final inhabitants has no entry to the worldwide web.The regime’s crackdown on international affect, particularly from South Korea, has reportedly intensified underneath Kim Jong Un. A report citing testimonies from 649 North Korean defectors revealed that authorities routinely examine telephones to suppress “western affect” and different indicators of publicity to South Korean tradition.Ok-pop and Ok-dramas are strictly banned within the nation. In a single case, a 22-year-old man was reportedly executed in public for listening to and sharing South Korean music and movies, in keeping with a human rights report by South Korea’s unification ministry.