Industry analysts say the “Arirang,’’ built around Google's Android OS, is likely manufactured in China, however.
The existence of the phone, named after a famous Korean folk song, came to light during a factory inspection by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the weekend.
During the tour, Kim was given a detailed briefing on the “performance, quality and packing of the Arirang hand phone,'' Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency reported.
Some analysts suggest the “Arirang'' is aimed at getting North Koreans to use an officially-approved phone that can be properly monitored.
Cell phones were introduced in 2008 through a joint venture with the Egyptian telecom firm Orascom, which says there are now two million users in North Korea.
A domestic intranet was launched in 2002 and some state bodies have their own websites.
The KCNA report on Kim's factory visit noted that the young leader praised the “Arirang's'' developers for coming up with a product that “provides the best convenience to the users while strictly guaranteeing security.’’
KCNA photos of the factory visit show workers with the finished phones, inspecting, testing and packing them. There are no pictures of an actual assembly line.
“Despite KCNA's reporting that the handsets are made at the factory, they are probably made to order by a Chinese manufacturer and shipped to the factory where they are inspected before going on sale,'' said Martyn Williams, who runs the North Korea Tech website.