





Mobile app KaKaoTalk has become the latest element of South Korean culture to penetrate the isolated North, Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported Friday.

RFA quoted a 30-something North Korean defector as saying that North Korean authorities are patrolling the border with China in search of people using the app.

"If you are caught using the app, you're perceived as a spy," said the defector, who was identified only as Hyun. "It's become a highly volatile issue."

The North Koreans reportedly access KaKaoTalk on smartphones smuggled in from China. Word has apparently spread about the app and phones with the messenger installed can be obtained for $300.

"KakaoTalk attracted many people because it was known to function even with weak signal reception," said Hyun.

"The (regime) keeps disrupting people's personal communication by sending out false electrical frequencies. But people have figured out that if they take their phones with the app installed to the border region, they can still communicate with the outside."

Efforts to crack down the app users are on rise, Hyun said.

"If they discover any trace of the app, it will become a critical excuse they will use to incriminate the user as a spy."