A North Korean company is marketing a foldable smartphone—the first time such a phone has been seen promoted in-country. The handset was likely imported from a Chinese manufacturer and presents further evidence that North Korea’s smartphone market has been rapidly expanding since pandemic-era border restrictions were lifted. 

State media coverage of the annual “National Exhibition of IT Successes” showed the phone displayed by Madusan Economic Federation (마두산경제련합회).  The event took place at Kim Il Sung University in Pyongyang from September 18 to 25, and is intended to highlight advances in the domestic IT industry. 

In television images, the phone can be seen both in the hands of an attendee at the exhibition and promoted on a screen at Madusan’s booth. However, the TV report did not specifically focus on the phone, so detailed specifications are not available. 

The TV images are not detailed enough to reveal additional details about the design beyond dual cameras on the outside and what appears to be a small display.

Madusan has a range of business activities centered around international trade, according to a profile in a state-run magazine. It was formed in 2018 and is one of 10 companies in North Korea that sells smartphones under their own brand name.  

The ten companies and many of the phones available are profiled in a recently published report, “Smartphones of North Korea 2024.” 

The phones are all believed to come from Chinese manufacturers. Current handsets are equivalent to mid-market Android phones on sale in many countries. In some cases, the same phone is on sale in other countries because local companies have also sourced from the same Chinese vendor. 

Pandemic border closures stalled the North Korean smartphone market in 2020, but it bounced back when restrictions began to lift in 2022. In 2023, several new brands were seen promoting handsets. This expansion has continued in 2024. 

The country also launched its first 4G cellular network last year, and phones supporting the service have also been seen on sale. 

While North Korean phone hardware comes from China, the software installed on the phone differs by country. They are based on the Android operating system but include domestically developed software that prevents users from viewing anything other than state-approved content. Domestic smartphone users also don’t have the ability to connect to the Internet or make and receive international phone calls.

Here’s a close-up of the three images: