China’s real-name cell phone registration rules could further isolate North Koreans

North Koreans’ most important link to the outside world, signals from Chinese cell phone networks that reach over the border inside North Korea, may soon be cut off. China is starting to enforce real-name registration requirements designed to crack down on scams and harassment, and North Koreans could be hardest hit.

North Koreans with relatives outside the country depend on Chinese mobile phone networks to communicate internationally, as the state’s networks are limited to calls made within the country.

China’s three main cell phone carriers already require subscribers to undergo name verification. While some North Koreans can have a relative in China register the phone on their behalf before the device is used in North Korea, a second source told RFA the process is “not that simple.”

The China-based registrant could still be charged with smuggling the phone into North Korea or engaging in other illegal activity if caught, the source said. In North Korea, the regime has continued to crack down on Chinese mobile phone use and has at times blocked wireless signals along the China border. [UPI]

It’s all the more reason for the U.S. and South Korean governments to redouble their own efforts to break down the digital DMZ. Unfortunately, the ongoing implosion of Park Geun-hye’s government makes it unlikely that South Korea would do anything as brave as building cell towers along the southern border or increasing the range or effectiveness of its broadcasts to the North. That means North Koreans may have to rely on corruption to circumvent the new Chinese rules until new initiatives like Project Loon or Facebook’s Aquila drones are ready.