North Korea is welcoming foreign visitors and firms to a trade fair this week, showcasing homegrown products including the latest model of its Jindallae smartphone.
North Korea has called Jindallae — “azalea” in Korean — a convenient way for citizens to stay connected. The domestic network, however, is strictly controlled.
The devices, which come in a range of colours and feature a large circular camera module with multiple lenses, have been on display at the Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair, the country’s largest.
AFP images showed visitors browsing stalls at the event on Monday, with state media saying “more than 290 enterprises and companies” from North Korea, Russia, China, Mongolia, Switzerland and Thailand were represented.
Jindallae was first unveiled in 2017, and the latest model appeared to be similar to the version released last year, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
The vast majority of North Korea’s 25 million people cannot access the global internet, with phones instead connecting to a highly restricted national intranet.
Reporting by the BBC has suggested the phones can periodically capture screenshots, which are then stored in hidden folders accessible to authorities.
