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Smuggled North Korean Smartphone Exposes Regime’s Digital Surveillance Network

A technical examination uncovers a modified Android system that logs screenshots at regular intervals, rewrites forbidden words, enforces hidden surveillance, applies harsh legal penalties for tampering

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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