April 20, 2024

Foreign laptops increasingly popular item for North Korean middle class

North Korea's elite move mobile computing as laptops become status symbol

Foreign laptops have become a new status symbol among North Korean high-ranking officials as more top-ranking North Korean elites can afford to buy costly foreign-made luxury items.

According to defector testimonies, the move marks a shift among North Korean’s upper classes towards mobile computing, as laptops from China, Japan and the West increasingly leak across North Korea’s borders.

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