The International Herald Tribune newspaper recently carried a report on North Korea's newly emerging elite class, focusing on one of its essential daily necessities - the cell phone.

The paper said the North Korean nouveau riche, with its wealth earned from border trade with China, is becoming the most influential force for change in the communist North, and that cellular phones are its most powerful instrument.

Citing diplomatic sources, the paper said the increasing occurrence of North Koreans' individual trade with Chinese for food and daily essentials had allowed for the development of the new class. The cross-border deals are reportedly being encouraged by Chinese authorities.

The Herald Tribune also said that since 2003, Chinese telecom operators have begun setting up base stations along the North Korea-China border, and that Chinese-made cell phones and pre-paid cell-phone cards are the hottest items in North Korea's black markets.