WSJ tests smartphone smuggled out of North Korea

The Wall Street Journal News Corp ↘ 1.33% published an investigation on Friday in which reporter Dasl Yoon examined a smartphone smuggled out of North Korea, revealing that what appears to be a familiar handheld device is in fact a tool of state surveillance designed to monitor nearly everything its users do.wsj+1

A Familiar Device With Hidden Controls

The video investigation shows Yoon exploring the North Korean phone alongside a former North Korean soldier, peeling back layers of software that allow Kim Jong Un's regime to track what citizens type and view. The device runs a modified version of Android but is cut off from the global internet, restricting users to North Korea's closed intranet system known as Kwangmyong, which hosts only state-approved content.wsj+3

Previous analyses of smuggled North Korean phones have documented features including automatic screenshots taken every five minutes and stored in hidden folders accessible only to authorities, as well as text-replacement systems that rewrite banned words — changing "South Korea" to "puppet state" and culturally prohibited terms to regime-approved alternatives. All North Korean smartphones come with monitoring and restriction software as standard, according to 38 North, a research program focused on North Korea.ndtv+1

A Pattern of Digital Control

The Journal's smartphone investigation is part of a broader series of reporting on North Korea's technology apparatus. Earlier this month, the outlet published a yearlong investigation into how North Korean operatives have infiltrated American companies using stolen identities and AI tools to earn money for the regime. In July, the Washington Post similarly gained access to North Korean smartphones, documenting how citizens use them for banking and daily tasks while living under constant digital oversight.wsj+2

North Korea's smartphone market has expanded in recent years, with at least 10 companies competing for consumers as of late 2024, even as every device remains tethered to the state's surveillance infrastructure. Phone calls and internet activity are monitored by "Bureau 27" in the State Security Department, and citizens caught attempting international communications face imprisonment.38north+1

The Limits of a Walled Garden

The WSJ investigation arrives as scrutiny of North Korea's digital ecosystem intensifies globally. While the regime has permitted greater smartphone adoption — using the devices as tools for economic development and daily life — it has simultaneously refined its ability to monitor the population through those same devices, creating what researchers describe as a surveillance state operating in citizens' pockets.amnesty+1