North Korea has officially reminded Seoul that people entering the North are banned from bringing mobile phones with them.

A Unification Ministry official said that according to the notice, anyone who enters North Korea with a mobile phone will be sent back to the South after having their phone confiscated. If a violator voluntarily admits to holding a phone, that person will be sent back but will not have their phone confiscated.

The official said that North Korea has restricted people from entering with a mobile phone even prior to its ban on all overland passage since December first. However, violators were usually only required to pay a fine and hand over their phone until reaching the border to the South.

North Korea also recently restricted all vehicles entering the Gaeseong Industrial Complex from using navigation or global positioning systems.