The Cell Phone Bomb

I'm not talking about the cell phone bombs that are a Mossad specialty. The kind that give you a wake up call and a severe headache.

This is the cell phone revolution encroaching on North Korea. The information revolution. It is tearing at the control structures of North Korea.

North Korea is facing growing unrest propelled by uncontrolled movement of news via new cell phone networks. North Korea has always tightly controlled information. Radios must be manufactured so that they only receive government stations. Anyone found with a radio that can receive foreign stations is tossed into a labor camp, or worse. Few North Koreans have telephones, and fewer still have computers or Internet access. But several years ago, Chinese telephone companies began bringing cell phone service to areas along the North Korean border. At first, coverage was spotty. But a year ago, new transmission equipment was installed along the border, making it possible to use the Chinese cell phones all along the North Korean border.