Kim Jong Un has proved he's not a man to be messed with, and in a year where he's sparked fears of World War III by meeting with Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, many think the United States is wise to keep its friends close but its potential enemies closer.
Despite North Korea having a population of over 26.5 million residents, there's a reason it's been given the nickname of 'the hermit kingdom' thanks to its strict regime and secrecy surrounding the nation.
From restricted internet access to social media bans, even North Korea's smartphones appear to be heavily monitored by the government. There were concerns when YouTuber Arun "Mrwhosetheboss" Maini attempted to expose some of the country's tech myths.
Some said that Maini was about to become 'Mrwherestheboss', joking that if he suddenly vanished, he'd been taken out by Kim Jong Un and his goons. The idea of smuggling smartphones out of North Korea sounds like a dangerous one to us, especially as Maini made wild claims like the Chinese-based Huawei is secretly making smartphones for the country.
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Showing off the Haeyang 701 and the Samtaesung 8, Maini's fascinating video exposed how the phones appear to take periodic screenshots that are sent to the government, why you can't type South Korean slang, and the fake illusion of internet access.
In his video, Mrwhosetheboss explained how he was testing the smuggled smartphones in the basement of South Korea's Daily NK. Considering the online newspaper is based in Seoul, it's safe to assume this is where Maini was trying the models.
Taking to X, a happy-looking Mrwhosetheboss said: "Made it back to the UK safe!! seriously appreciate all the concern, I got pretty spooked myself ngl 😂 back to tech videos soon ❤️."
He didn't reveal what happened to spook him, but we'd guess all those jokes in the comments about the North Korean government coming after him might not be that far away from the truth.
We've previously seen YouTubers shocked by how North Korea doesn't seem as strict as we’re told, although others report a very different experience, and how the place is plastered with nothing but pro-government propaganda.
Obviously, a video claiming that the same government is spying on you through your smartphone isn't exactly good for business. Even if Maini did rattle those behind the scenes in North Korea, at least he's made it back to his home turf in one piece.
Responding to Mrwhosetheboss' honest post, one person said: "Man really said almost died but content never stops."
Another added: "You literally had the whole of Twitter quaking man, thank god you're alright."
A third joked: "What if it's Kim Posting from ur phone 🤔."
Thankfully, it sounds like it won't be long until he's back to doing his usual YouTube videos instead of poking the hornet's nest of government regimes.