As well as being able to make calls from mobile phones which won't have been confiscated, foreign visitors to North Korea will soon be able to browse the Internet.

Foreign residents of Pyongyang were informed that an Internet service would launch by 1 March. The service will be provided by Koryolink—a joint venture between Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation and Egypt's Orascom Telecom.

The policy only covers those from outside the country—as could have been easily predicted, citizens of the country are still barred from making international calls and accessing the Internet. As such the move is likely to be entirely centered around generating revenue from tourism and not a result of Eric Schmidt's recent visit to the country.

"I think this policy is just a simple trick to earn foreign currency," said Eunkyoung Kwon, manager of International Affairs at Open North Korea, to NK News.

"Pyongyang knows it is inevitable that tourists will upload pictures and blogs after their visits, so the only difference with this move is that it just changes when visitors can release this information. By allowing foreigners to use the Internet during their trips they can correspondingly attract more tourists, but for the people the Internet remains banned."

A pricing structure has yet to be announced, however AP reports that those interested in using the service should be able to start purchasing monthly mobile Internet data plans in the next week or so for use with a USB modem or with an existing SIM card.

It is not known whether (or, more realistically, how many) restrictions will be placed on browsing sites.