Are there mobile phones in North Korea?

Question

Is it true that there are no mobile phones in North Korea? I have heard opposing views saying that there is a working mobile network that many people use and views that say there isn't any of them in the whole country.

I like this question, but it should reference - and ideally quote - an independent source of the claim (e.g. a newspaper article). — Brian M. Hunt, Apr 14 '13 at 12:44
You can find some references from [wikipedia article on a matter](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_in_North_Korea#Mobile_phones) and on a [mobile provider page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koryolink) — default locale, Apr 14 '13 at 12:54
@defaultlocale: You have all the ingredients of an answer there... — Oddthinking, Apr 14 '13 at 13:14
When I visited 2 years ago, people had cell phones. Visitors were not allowed to have theirs (they were kept at the border). I only visited the main cities. — the_lotus, Apr 15 '13 at 20:44

score 12 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 17 '13 at 06:32

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More clarification of international calls from North-Korea is given here, dated March 27, 2013.

“3G access is no longer available for tourists to the DPRK. Sim cards can still be purchased to make international calls but no internet access is available,” the Beijing-based North Korean tourism specialist said in a short notice on its website.

edited Apr 17 '13 at 06:32

Oddthinking

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answered Apr 17 '13 at 05:18

Okky

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Does this answer the question? – Oddthinking Apr 17 '13 at 06:33

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Apr 30 '13 at 14:08

According to a recent BBC article

At the start of 2012 Koryolink claimed to have one million 3G subscribers.

Koryolink being North Koreas only 3G operator.

According to the same BBC article:

The service can only be used to make voice calls, and all international calls are banned.

However tourists and visitors can use mobile data.

This blog post from Google's Eric Schmidt also supports the view that while North Korea's mobile infrastructure is extremely limited, it does exist.

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Apr 14 '13 at 17:27

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It seems clear from the wikipedia page that there are plenty of mobile phones. The issue of being able to make international calls is a different matter, but my original question seems answered.

answered Apr 14 '13 at 17:27

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So, why not award an answer? That would be helpful to others reaading this in future – Mawg says reinstate Monica May 02 '17 at 10:26

Are there mobile phones in North Korea?

3 Answers3