North Korean defectors rely heavily on brokers who not only help them escape to China and/or ultimately to South Korea, but also stay connected with their loved ones back in the North. Over the years, brokers have used Chinese cell phones that enable them to make calls close to the China-North Korea border using Chinese relay towers, while an intermediary in China would arrange for money to be sent from South Korea to intended recipients in North Korea after taking a percentage for their services.

However, recent crackdowns by authorities have resulted in reduced communication for desperate families and friends who wait in the unknown through long periods of silence. Due to the broad and unmonitored powers brokers have over defectors and their families, reports indicate that remittance scams are common and the pandemic created a loophole that allows brokers to cheat their clients, particularly those whose families live in inland North Korean cities located far from the border regions.

A BREACH OF TRUST

It is no secret to the international community, let alone brokers working at the heart of the underground network, that North Koreans trying to escape their country have no choice but to trust brokers and their services with an unquestioning attitude. Unfortunately, cases of broker exploitation are not rare, especially since the borders were closed since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 and people in the North had no way of communicating with the outside world.

Moreover, many defectors who have already escaped to the South were contacted by people posing as brokers. Kim Dan-geum, a North Korean defector who settled in South Korea told Radio Free Asia, described that brokers emotionally manipulate defectors, saying that “‘The family will starve to death if you don’t send the money,’ But we can’t confirm whether that’s true or not. There is no way to confirm.” Kim added that, “One lady I know said she keeps sending money, and the broker plays for her the recorded voices of the family saying ‘I got the money,’ or ‘I did not get the money.’”

According to Seo Jae-pyoung, secretary general of the South Korea-based Association of the North Korean Defectors, brokers take advantage of the fact that they are the only source of communication between defectors and their families. “Border control is now strict, so people from other provinces cannot get near the border. ... I myself got a call yesterday. The broker said my nephew’s name and told me to send money for him. I can’t connect with my nephew so … I can’t even check whether the money I sent actually got to him or not.” At the same time, the inability to discern between actual and fraudulent requests for money can be detrimental to people still living in the North. Seo described that “A defector I know had a younger brother living in Hyeryong, who called her in April last year requesting money … The sister said, ‘You don’t even drink alcohol. Don’t lie,’ and she hung up on him. A few months later news came that her younger brother had died. She began to wail, because what her brother said was true.” Further, Seo explained that brokers fabricate receipts, whereby “Some hand over a smaller amount of money than what was due and force them to sign a receipt.”

A ‘SAFER ROUTE’ TO FREEDOM?

Following widespread rumors about the impending forced repatriation of defectors detained in China, news that defectors whose identities have not been confirmed by their Chinese families are about to be arrested and sent back to the North have also started to spread among the North Korean community. As a result, defectors in China are increasingly anxious and fearful of their illegal statuses, and many are urgently seeking ways to reach South Korea as soon as possible.

According to a recent report, two defectors were arrested by the Chinese police in Jilin Province in mid-July after receiving assurance from a broker that he would “send them safely to South Korea without incident” upon paying an advance payment of 55,000 RMB (around $7,600 USD). A source explained to DailyNK that “some defectors are paying brokers in advance and then getting arrested on their way to South Korea. That’s because brokers are assuring their clients that they can safely make it to South Korea through a ‘newly-developed route’,” which is an outright lie. Consequently, desperate defectors who have chosen to quickly leave China are not only losing their money to deceitful brokers but also getting caught by the Chinese authorities.

The ongoing abuse of a people who are already vulnerable is still happening to this day. While the path to freedom is fraught with bad actors, we heard recently that the number of North Korean defectors entering into (and graduating from) Hanawon in South Korea has slowly grown in recent months, and for that, we are thankful.