The North Korean authorities appear to be changing their treatment of “Hwagyo,” or overseas Chinese, who travel back and forth to China. Daily NK has learned that recently Hwagyo have been undergoing interrogation whenever
they return from China to North Korea.
“Hwagyo returning
from trips to China are called in by the State Security Department for
questioning. They are interrogated about what they did in China and whom they
met there,” a source from Pyongyang explained to Daily NK on the 13th.
“When they give statements, the SSD guys seem to know their schedules too well,
asking things like who ‘X’ was that they met on such-and-such a date in
such-and-such a restaurant.”
The Hwagyo community
has long enjoyed greater freedom of cross-border movement than other groups in
North Korean society. However, this is an explicit challenge to the regime’s goal of
dominating information flows, and triggers suspicion that Hwagyo may bear responsibility for leaks of information
that the regime does not wish to publicize.
“In the past they were questioned the first time they went to China and that was fine, but these days [the
authorities] are calling people in for interrogation to ask
whether they’ve had contact with ‘impure elements’ and tell them to be sure to tell the truth,” the source alleged, adding that Hwagyo are feeling pressure from the situation.
“The Hwagyo
say they’re fearful as it seems that when they go to China they’ll
be put under surveillance, and that the SSD treat them like spies, which
makes them feel bad,” the source said. However, “they have no choice but to put up with it or their visa issues will
get more complicated.”
According to many sources, Hwagyo
living in North Korea did not attract the attention of the authorities until Chinese
products started appearing in the rapidly growing market structure in the
1990s.
Since they are legally able to obtain visas more easily than
other groups, Hwagyo were among the earliest to start
bringing these Chinese goods in for sale. In the process, they forged close links
with the security forces and state agencies, who are both responsible for their travel permissions but also utilize them for the purposes of earning hard currency.
“With the start of the Kim Jong Eun system, the Chosun
security forces’ view of the Hwagyo has changed rapidly,” the source concluded.
“The SSD controls are getting conspicuous now, for instance keeping watch over Hwagyo in China.”
