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Publishing new North Korean laws
A North Korean smartphone app containing a database of laws current to mid-2024 has allowed NK TechLab to publish 33 laws, some never previously seen outside North Korea.
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North Korea’s Health App Offers Medicines on Demand
A North Korean health ministry app lets citizens order medicines and consult doctors via smartphone — a sign of the state’s growing embrace of digital services.
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North Korea Revised its Space Law to Permit Military Use
A 2022 revision to North Korea’s Space Development Law removed language committing to peaceful uses of space, clearing the legal path for military satellites.
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Welcome to NK TechLab
NK TechLab investigates how North Korea uses technology — from smartphones and surveillance systems to AI and information controls — to govern and monitor its population.
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Madusan’s folding smartphone is identified
The folding smartphone that showed up at the recent National Exhibition of IT Successes has been identified. Commenting on a Reddit post, a user pointed to a video recorded at the IFA trade show that took place in Berlin in early September. The same phone was on display at the booth of Doogee, a Chinese…
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North Korea Gets A Folding Smartphone
A North Korean company is marketing a foldable smartphone—the first time such a phone has been seen promoted in-country. The handset was likely imported from a Chinese manufacturer and presents further evidence that North Korea’s smartphone market has been rapidly expanding since pandemic-era border restrictions were lifted. State media coverage of the annual “National Exhibition…
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North Korea’s Smartphone Market Expands as Border Restrictions End
The variety of smartphones in North Korea has more than doubled in two years, with brands competing on price and features while the state maintains strict controls.
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KCTV appears on Russian satellite after Putin visit
The main satellite relay of North Korea’s Korean Central Television (KCTV) may have switched from a Chinese to a Russian satellite, significantly reducing the number of people who can view the broadcast. The switch, if confirmed, comes less than two weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Pyongyang and the two countries committed to closer…
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What We Learned Inside a North Korean Internet Server: How Well Do You Know Your Partners?
A misconfigured North Korean cloud server exposed an animation outsourcing operation and raised serious questions about how foreign firms can verify their IT partners.
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Digital Surveillance in North Korea: Moving Toward a Digital Panopticon State
As digital technology spreads through North Korea, it is simultaneously improving daily life and enabling an ever more comprehensive system of state surveillance.
