About the Author
Phebe Kim
Phebe Kim is an NK News contributor based in Washington DC. She is a Fulbright Korea Grantee, 2010-2012 and is currently a M.A. Candidate at Georgetown University.
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Foreign laptops increasingly popular item for North Korean middle classNorth 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. © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. |