Korea: November 22, 2004

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North Korean police are trying to stop North Koreans from using illegal cell phones along the border. From a hill or high building, a North Korean with a cell phone can get a connection and talk to people outside the country. This is illegal. But the corruption in the north is becoming more open, and the illegal cell phones are not the only contraband being smuggled in. North Korean border police are easier to bribe, and thus people and goods pass across the border. The corruption goes high enough that orders from the capital to "stop the border problems" results in reports that the problem has been taken care of. But the smuggling continues.