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North Korea buying Chinese surveillance cameras in push to tighten control, report finds

North Korea state media reports show that video surveillance is becoming more common at schools, workplaces and airports, researchers wrote in a new report.

The study’s findings align with widely held views that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is stepping up efforts to tighten the state’s control of its citizens and promote loyalty to his regime. New laws and recent reports of harsher punishments suggest that the government is cracking down on foreign influence and imported media, likely helped by fences and electronic monitoring systems installed on the border with China during the pandemic. North Korea has also been expanding its network of traffic cameras beyond Pyongyang since 2021, installing them at major roads heading into and out of the city, likely for the purpose of automatically recording number plates, the report said.

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