Overview

• Experts who analysed the phone, obtained by defectors in late 2024, found it runs on a modified Android that auto-corrects words like “South Korea” to “Puppet State” and “oppa” to “comrade.”
• The smartphone covertly takes a screenshot every five minutes, storing images in hidden folders that only state authorities can access.
• All internet connections are blocked and users are confined to Kwangmyong, a closed intranet hosting exclusively state-approved content.
• Youth patrol squads enforce criminal penalties for using South Korean slang or accents, intensifying ideological conformity across North Korean society.
• Despite harsh surveillance and punishments, citizens continue smuggling USB drives and micro-SD cards with South Korean media, fueling defections including that of Kang Gyuri.