Beijing:
Foreigners visiting North Korea can now take their own mobile phones into the country, Chinese state media reported today, citing an employee with the operator of the country's mobile network.
A technician with Koryolink, the North Korean-Egyptian joint venture that operates the 3G phone network, told China's official Xinhua news agency that the move took effect on January 7.
"We have tried hard to negotiate with the Korean security side, and got the approval recently," the technician, identified as an Egyptian, said. "It has nothing to do with the Google trip," the technician added.
Earlier this month, Google chairman Eric Schmidt made a high-profile visit to North Korea and said in Beijing that he told officials in North Korea that the country would not develop unless it embraced Internet freedom.
A technician with Koryolink, the North Korean-Egyptian joint venture that operates the 3G phone network, told China's official Xinhua news agency that the move took effect on January 7.
"We have tried hard to negotiate with the Korean security side, and got the approval recently," the technician, identified as an Egyptian, said. "It has nothing to do with the Google trip," the technician added.
Earlier this month, Google chairman Eric Schmidt made a high-profile visit to North Korea and said in Beijing that he told officials in North Korea that the country would not develop unless it embraced Internet freedom.
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