North Korea cracking down on uncensored mobile Internet access

It appears the North Korean government has cracked down on mobile phone access to foreigners living inside the reclusive country. Foreign residents have been blocked from accessing 3G networks, while North Korean citizens remain unable to visit Internet websites outside of the country. Foreign visitors have the ability to purchase 3G mobile SIM cards, with access only lasting about the same amount of time as their visit.

"Unfortunately we are facing Internet service outage from the local Internet provider's side with no estimated time, we will keep you posted once the service is back to normal," according to a memo sent to subscribers of the Koryolink mobile provider.

The block started on Friday local time, and it's unknown what caused the sudden restriction. Of the country's 24 million residents, about 2.5 million of them are currently phone subscribers. There is concern that users with access to the Internet will find unrestricted information, which can be shared with other residents.