North Korea issuing SIM cards to tourists
 

BBC News - North Korea allows foreign visitors to use own mobiles

According to this BBC News article, North Korea is issuing SIM cards to tourists and is now allowing visitors to bring in mobile phones; visitors to the country previously had to leave them at customs and collect them upon departure.

Some explanation of the dual telephone network in North Korea is given at Telephone numbers in North Korea - Wikipedia which explains the restrictions on the numbers that can be called using these SIM cards.

More about the charges at Koryolink international calling rates detailed North Korea Tech

I wonder whether they'll issue nano-SIMs?

BBC News - North Korea to offer mobile internet access

Koryolink will soon allow foreign users to use 3G data as well.

That's just to be able to better track and eavesdrop on visitors and to illuminate the sky with radio waves that form the basis for a passive radar system allowing the detection of stealth aircraft (see Cassidian?s Passive Radar Detects Stealth Aircraft | Defense Technology News at DefenceTalk) - so all driven by intelligence interests.

P.S: The UK seem to be looking into a passive radar system, too: http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/14/u...passive-radar/

Since nuclear bomb-making and rocketry technology is the only thing North Korea has of "value" that could be used to pay for an Egyptian-supplied mobile network (and the expensive cladding and completion of the economically worthless Ryugyong Hotel, also performed by Orascom Telecom, plus who knows what else), it makes you wonder who got what out of the deal. (Other Middle Eastern "investors" have shown interest in the hotel, even though Pyongyang's other tourist hotels are always empty.) The DPRK regime has never facilitated communication between its citizens, even the privileged ones allowed to live in Pyongyang (who are lucky to own a bicycle), so you can be sure that all calls are listened to.

Perhaps the nuclear program is just there to sell SIM cards and fill hotel rooms after opening it to inspection. In the tourism market you definitely need to identify niches - attracting and accomodating UN weapon inspectors is one of them, though attracting requires intensive preparation, namely by said nuclear weapon program and years of threatening your neighbours.

I'm also assuming the DPRK still bans visitors bringing in satphones since those can't easily be monitored or call-blocked, and would also be lower priced competition to the international rates through Orascom/Koryolink. Don't think my Iridium phone would be welcome at the DPRK border.

I watched a documentary by an independent journalist who went to DPRK as a tourist. I have no desire to go there, ever. Seoul is more than close enough for me.

From what I've read, they'll let you bring an unlocked phone now. At least one North Korean tourist reports, after trying to surrender his phone to the Customs agent, that the agent returned his phone and directed him to the booth selling North Korean SIM cards.

More information about the charges, which are very high:

DPRK to offer mobile internet access for foreigners - China.org.cn

"We will provide both a USB modem and your current own SIM card to get access to Internet, respectively costs 75 euro and 150 euro upon registration, with different levels of charge standard, from 400euro/10G, 250euro/5G, to 150euro/2G for USB and 10 euro for SIM card per month"

Is €150 a record price for buying a prepaid SIM card?

I wonder what North Korea's international IP connectivity is like and if you could ever use up your data allowance. You would need to use a bandwidth of 30 KBit/s for a full month day and night to generate 10GB.

I went to NK in 2011 just to see what it´s like. (PN me if you want to see pictures of the trip)

At the time the group I went with had to surrender their phones on arrival, we got them back on departure.

The travel agency I went with (koryotours) obvisouly goes in frequently, and they managed to actually place a Skype-Video-call from NorthKorea:
Skype Call from Inside North Korea - YouTube

Most interesting trip, but you shouldn´t expect reliable communication at any time. If you need to be available/online you should definitely NOT go!

Rgds, Chrisitan

When I went there many years ago, "no digital cameras" was a strictly enforced rule. I suppose that means things have improved.

That at least two of our members have visited North Korea is rather remarkable.
No wonder obscure questions can get answered here.

I have a friend who went to North Korea in 1968. He lived there for 11 months and doesn't really care to go back again. ;)

More detailed charges are now listed here.

€0.20/min for incoming calls is a bit unjustified, given that they're no doubt also charging a hefty termination fee to the caller's network.

€0.15 to €0.20 per megabyte is expensive but not prohibitive.

It's interesting that foreigners living in North Korea (mainly diplomats) are subject to much lower charges. However, it doesn't specifically state that the foreigner line is available only to residents.

According to recent media reports Orascom cannot recover the returns from its North Korean operations "Koryolink" and therefore has halted all investments in the network:
http://www.telegeography.com/product...n-north-korea/

A German article also comments that conversion of these profits into any foreign currency is an issue as currency exchange is prohibited in North Korea while outside the country there is no market for the North Korean Won. Further to that Koryolink's tax exemption will end on Sunday after which the company will be subject to yet unquantified taxation. In 1H 2013 Koryolink generated $150m in revenues yieding an EBITDA of $ 116m which corresponds to a huge ROS of 78%.
Remarkably in the latest half year report Orascom has valued Koryolink with $464m plus the frozen cash balance worth $366m which has been accounted as "non-current financial assets".

You would think any company "investing" in North Korea would know that a closed society with fake money that restricts the product you are trying to sell would be a bad investment - especially one whose only export is nuclear bomb technology and primitive armaments. A country that keeps the shipping containers that aid is sent in is not going to let you make a profit once you've spent the money there.

They could probably use their NK Won to buy counterfeit $100 bills or wholesale quantities of methamphetamine they could resell for a profit.