North Korea: North Korea

North Korea Dept: PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Korea is loosening some restrictions on foreign cellphones by allowing visitors to bring their own phones into the country. However, security regulations still prohibit mobile phone calls between foreigners and locals, according to Winnipeg Free Press. The ritual of handing over phones was part of an exhaustive security check that most visitors face at immigration in North Korea. Many foreigners including Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, who travelled to North Korea earlier this month choose to leave their phones behind in Beijing before flying to Pyongyang and fILE - In this Dec. 16, 2008 file photo, released by China's Xinhua News Agency, people look at 3G mobile phones in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea is loosening its restrictions on foreign cellphones and is allowing visitors to bring their own phones into the country. The policy reverses a longstanding rule requiring visitors to relinquish their foreign phones at the border. AP Photo/Xinhua, Zhang Binyang, File NO SALES For years, North Korea required visitors to relinquish foreign cellphones at the border until their departure, leaving many tourists without an easy way to communicate with the outside world. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.