Foreigners visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea can now take their own mobile phones into the country, media reported on Sunday, citing an employee with the operator of the country's mobile network.

A technician with Koryolink, the DPRK-Egyptian joint venture that operates the 3G phone network, told Xinhua News Agency that the move took effect on Jan 7.

A technician, identified as an Egyptian, said they have tried hard to negotiate with the DPRK security, and they "got the approval recently", adding: "It has nothing to do with the Google trip".