As the people in North Korea try to maintain contact with the outside world following a crackdown on visual media, miniature radios are rapidly being smuggled in from China, according to RFA.

A source in Yanggang province along the border with China reported that “A mass influx of miniature radios can be predicted to meet the skyrocketing demand in North Korea.”

He said, “the miniature radios serve as the conduit through which news and culture from abroad flows into the country.”

Additionally, he said that the radios are cheaper and easier to hide than the equipment needed to view illegal DVDs. 

Even though the North Korean government keeps an iron grip on information in North Korea, their ability to conduct surveillance is limited by the country’s power supply.

He also pointed out, “the spread of miniature radios is a more serious headache for the North Korean authorities than illegal visual media.”

North Korean authorities not only have long tried to forbid South Korean soap operas, movies, and music from entering into the country, but also publicly executed around 80 people for watching foreign media. 

Source: RFA Radio Free Asia