Foreigners in North Korea will soon be allowed to use the mobile internet on their cell phones, Ipads and other mobile devices. The mobile Internet service will be offered by provider Koryolink. However, North Korean citizens will still not have access to the mobile Internet.
This story comes from FOX News. This announcement comes weeks after North Korea began allowing foreigners to bring their own cell phones into the country, but only to be used use with Koryolink SIM cards. This new policy reverses a longstanding rule requiring most visitors to relinquish their phones at customs and leaving many without easy means of communication with the outside world.
North Koreans, however will remained to be governed by a separate set of telecommunication rules than that of foreigners. Though North Korea is equipped for broadband Internet, only a small, approved segment of the population has access to the World Wide Web. Radio Free Asia reports that North Koreans will be allowed to access only certain 3G services. These services include SMS, MMS, and video calls. They will also be able to subscribe to a state run newspaper but only this one source.
Foreigners will be allowed to purchase monthly mobile Internet data plans for use with a USB modem or on mobile devices using their SIM cards starting next week. Prices have not been announced yet.
It is not yet known if the internet will be open or have restricted sites.
"I think this policy is just a simple trick to earn foreign currency," said Eunkyoung Kwon, manager of International Affairs at Open North Korea.
I think this shows that North Korea is becoming more open to the outside world. Hopefully in the near future North Korean citizens will be given more freedoms such as complete internet access.