A leaked smartphone from North Korea has once again revealed the country’s heavy-handed control over technology and its oppressive surveillance of citizens’ daily lives. Footage released by the BBC has clearly revealed that the Kim Jong Un regime uses digital devices as a tool of ideological control.

A smartphone used in North Korea has been revealed

The device, whose brand is unknown but is clearly under state control, greets the user with a North Korean flag when opened. Software details in the footage show that the phone is no ordinary Android device.

The system on the device has the ability to censor certain words and automatically replace them with the official language of the state. For example, the word “oppa” (older brother), which is frequently used by young people in South Korea, is automatically replaced with “comrade” when typed on this device.

The censorship does not end there. It is not even possible to type the word “South Korea” on the device. The system automatically changes this word to “puppet state”, forcing the user to use propaganda language even if they do not want to.

These mechanisms not only cut off communication with the outside world, but also directly embed the state’s ideological discourse into everyday digital interactions. Another striking detail on the leaked phone shows how far the surveillance system has gone.

The device silently takes screenshots every five minutes. These images are saved in an encrypted folder that users cannot access. This means that all users’ digital activities are being tracked in the background.

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