Defectors sending mini computers into North Korea to subvert regime

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (UPI) -- A group of North Korean defectors are seeking to change the Kim Jong Un regime with Raspberry Pi mini-computers.

The goal is to secretly distribute the devices in the country and open up information channels for ordinary North Koreans.

A defector who spoke to Yonhap on the condition of anonymity said North Korean authorities block information from the outside world from being accessed by the general population.

The crackdown is "growing, and in order to give ordinary North Koreans knowledge of the outside world we will soon smuggle in the Raspberry Pis," the defector said.

The cheap Raspberry Pi is about the size of the palm of one's hand and can be carried easily, according to the report.

The computers can pick up wireless signals within a 1-mile radius. The defectors plan to retain a communications command center in an area of China close to the North Korea border.

When thousands of the devices are smuggled into the country, they can automatically share information across a network that can extend all the way to Pyongyang and other areas more inland, the defector said.

"If in the past a North Korean would sing to himself as he listened to a South Korean pop song, now through the Raspberry Pis he can learn about North Korea's human rights violations and be moved to action and social change," the defector said.

The first step is to send in dozens of the devices as soon as funding becomes available, then seek the support of the international community to expand operations, according to Yonhap.