North Korea Eases Mobile Limits for Foreigners

From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.Foreigners in North Korea can now use Twitter, Facebook, and other social media on their mobile phones. A steady flow of tweets and Instagram pictures has been observed since the mobile service provider Koryolink launched its third generation, or 3G, network last week. The move came weeks after the North Korean government announced that it would let foreigners bring their mobile phones into the country.Until recently, foreigners were required to leave their phones with customs officials. The changes represent a rare reform in what is considered to be the world's most repressive country. Some experts say it might be a sign that North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, is open to easing official restrictions.Martyn Williams operates the North Korea Tech blog. He says the changes could create a hole in the wall of censorship that keeps almost all foreign information out of the country.The new mobile Internet service will be available only to the small number of foreigners in North Korea. But Martyn Williams says the service could change the way foreign media report on North Korea. He says having an Internet connection on a camera-equipped mobile phone means reporters can avoid some of the official restrictions. David Slatter works in Seoul as a writer for the website NKNews.org. He says that reporters might be able to publish some images without the approval of the North Korean government. But he says their effect may be limited.China's official Xinhua news agency says the Koryolink SIM card will cost $200 and the same amount for 2 gigabytes of data.For VOA Learning English, I'm Alex Villarreal. (Adapted from a radio program broadcast 04Mar2013)