According to a Daily NK report, people in border regions are using the bad weather to disguise their use of Chinese cell phones. With the Korean peninsula in the grips of inclement weather, people are wearing mufflers or scarves to hide earphones allowing them to take calls at any time.
A source told the Daily NK that people are using this method because their use of Chinese cell phones was difficult to conceal. Dressing like this allows citizens to use their phones at any time as it is, according to the source, much more difficult for them to be detected. This is also in response to it being easier for the authorities to track targets who were going to hilly areas to make international calls because they would often stand still in one place.
As illegal international phone calls are punished in a variety of ways, transgressors of this law are able to bribe themselves out of punishment. The Daily NK source estimates that between 70 and 80% of those caught give bribes to security agents. This has also had further repercussions with some citizens being warned ahead of crackdowns on illegal cell phone use.
Source: the Daily NK
