N. Korea's new phone limits file transfers from foreign devices | NK News
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September 24, 2026Sep 24, 2026

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N. Korea’s new phone limits file transfers from foreign devices

No transfers of files from foreign made handsets not totally without precedent

North Korea has updated its Arirang smartphone, with the newer model no longer allowing Bluetooth file transfers from foreign phones, according to Aram Pan at DPRK 360.

Pan photographed the new handset during his latest visit to North Korea. The settings panel shows the phone is the Arirang 151, and lists the build date as June 12 this year.

“The Arirang AP151 phone. Foreign android phones cannot transfer photos or files via Bluetooth to this new unit,” Pan wrote in the caption for the photograph.

The cell phone’s information screen also shows that like its predecessor, the new Arirang runs