North Korea has begun signing up subscribers for 4G mobile services.

As reported by Daily NK, some users have signed up for the services, which have only partially launched in the country.

The service is reportedly only available in selected areas, including in parts of Pyongyang.

It's not been revealed how many people have signed up for the 4G services.

“I understand that [4G services] are in use only in the central districts of Pyongyang so far,” a source told the publication.

“People who have subscribed to the new network say the signal is really good, with no interruptions when browsing the intranet or watching shows.”

The same source told NK Daily that 4G signal almost fully disappears if users move too far from a base station, and that many users are still keeping their 3G devices as a backup.

The build-out of 4G has been supported by China, according to NK Daily, importing second-hand Huawei kit for the upgrades.

Huawei's equipment is set to upgrade existing 3G sites in the country.

It was reported in November that the modernization of North Korea's networks had been delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The first 4G mobile networks launched back in 2009.

Governed by Kim Jong Un, North Korea is run as a totalitarian dictatorship. The country's government has significant control over the media content that is consumed by its population.

North Korea currently has two active mobile network operators, Koryolink and Kang Song NET.

Koryolink was formed in 2008 as part of a JV between Egyptian company Orascom Investment Holding (OIH) and state-owned Korean Post & Telecoms Corporation (KPTC). Kang Song NET was formed more recently, in 2015.