Overview

• The device was smuggled out via defector networks in late 2024 and analyzed in June 2025 by BBC-affiliated tech experts
• Nearly all North Korean phones run a heavily modified Android operating system with embedded tools to perpetuate state ideology and track user movements
• A hidden function on the device captures screenshots every five minutes and stores them in a restricted folder accessible only to government officials
• Built-in autocorrect transforms terms like “oppa” into “comrade” and renames “South Korea” as “puppet state” to enforce regime language controls
• Internet access is disabled on these phones and users risk public execution or extreme forced labor if they consume banned media or tamper with the device