North Korea’s trade officials are running a pay-to-work racket
To get a coveted work posting in China, North Korean trade workers are being forced to hand over as much as $20,000 in cash...
North Korean defectors in China rattled by police photo visits
North Korean defectors living in China are reportedly gripped by fear after police in their neighborhoods began making repeated visits to photograph them, sources...
China blocks North Korean factory workers en masse
A Chinese garment factory in Liaoning province attempted to bring roughly 100 North Korean female workers into China in January, but local authorities rejected...
WeChat surveillance ensnares two N. Korean women planning to reach South Korea
Two North Korean defector women who exchanged WeChat messages about reaching South Korea were arrested by Chinese police in early February and remain in...
Russian goods shop in Dandong reveals North Korea-China-Russia cooperation
A shop dealing solely in Russian goods in Dandong, China—just across from the customs house in the North Korean city of Sinuiju, North Pyongan...
Height, songbun, and accordion skills: What it takes to land a North Korean restaurant...
With North Korea expected to expand its overseas workforce, more young women are taking lessons in singing and musical instruments with the hope of...
North Korea’s elite Ponghak Beer enters Chinese market seeking foreign currency
North Korea's Ponghak Beer, the beer of choice among North Korea's elite, has appeared in the Chinese market.
Alongside Taedonggang Beer, which was already widely...
Barred from hospitals, North Korean defector faces worsening tuberculosis and despair
Some North Korean defectors living in China are still unable to receive hospital treatment even for serious illnesses due to their status as illegal...
N. Korean defectors in China lose savings to trusted individuals who exploit illegal status
Female defectors working part-time to support families back home have no recourse when Chinese nationals refuse to return money, unable to use banks or...
N. Korea’s spy agency inspects foreign currency traders in China to prevent embezzlement
The Reconnaissance Information General Bureau has been auditing officials at medium and large trading companies in Shenyang and Dandong since October, questioning their contacts,...
