Conditions for defectors attempting to leave the country continue to deteriorate, in part due to the strengthening of the Chinese government’s domestic surveillance efforts. Officers from the Chinese Ministry of People’s Security (police) have enhanced their ability to identify and apprehend North Korean defectors being transported by professional brokers, who make a living by guiding them through China’s dangerous border region. Some of the more unscrupulous brokers do little to ensure their clients’ safety, exposing them to increasing levels of risk.
Following Kim Jong Un’s rise to power in 2012, the regime launched a secret operation to target China-based brokers. This has made successful defections significantly more difficult to achieve. According to inside sources, the North Korean authorities have focused on cutting the link between the brokers in China and North Koreans hoping to escape.
Furthermore, from 2013, the Xi Jinping government began accelerating domestic monitoring efforts in the name of national stability. For this reason, many of the original brokers began to withdraw their services from 2014.
As a result, some of the brokers who regarded their work as a “rescue mission” for defectors had no choice but to duck for cover as the likelihood of arrest began to skyrocket.
Now that the so-called “veteran” brokers have left, “rookies” have come to take their spots. Many of the arrests and repatriations that have occurred over the past year have occurred with these new brokers, who lack the experience necessary to avoid detection. As more of these opportunistic brokers enter the market, successful defection becomes an increasingly unlikely outcome.
Some brokers, with an eye towards maximizing profits, are taking on more customers than they can properly manage.
Brokers have historically transported two to three people at a time for safety reasons, but now there are brokers who will take groups as large as twelve to fifteen. According to testimonies from experienced brokers, transporting over ten defectors at a time is likely to attract attention from China’s Ministry of People’s Security, no matter how well disguised they may be.
An insider with experience as a broker told Daily NK, “Experienced brokers became anxious and stopped working when the Chinese authorities increased their surveillance. In their place, Chinese nationals and defectors themselves began to fill the demand in pursuit of profit. Right now, about half of the brokers working in China don’t have much experience helping North Korean defectors. It’s similar to human trafficking.”
Brokers lie and defectors keep secrets
As competition heats up between the brokers, dubious practices are increasing. Some brokers fail to inform the (South Korean) families of their customers if they are arrested by Chinese police and repatriated back to North Korea. Such incidents impact their business prospects, so many brokers keep these events a secret.
“Some brokers only care if their clients are caught because of the fact that they’ve lost a customer. They say they are helping defectors, but then when an incident happens, they are quick to dodge blame and avoid responsibility,” a source close to North Korean affairs said.
Some veteran brokers are known to be generous and receive some of their fees from churches or missionary groups. But even these veterans are known to deliberately conceal arrests in order to continue receiving financial support, according to inside sources.
One such veteran broker, Mr. Kim (pseudonym), receives enough money to employ locals in China to help move defectors.
Over the past year, Mr. Kim’s local brokers in China have suffered numerous episodes over the past year wherein their customers were apprehended by Chinese police. However, the churches and aid groups that were sponsoring Mr. Kim’s operations were not notified at the time. The families (in South Korea) are also notified late, and only when their relatives are likely to be repatriated.
A source with information about Mr. Kim told Daily NK, “Mr. Kim operates a mission, and he receives support from churches and missions in the country. With this money, he employs Chinese locals to move defectors to specific places at specific times. The very first thing Mr. Kim tells the local brokers to do is hang a placard around the defector’s neck that says, ‘Thank You,’ and take a photo. These photos are sent to the financial supporters,” a source with information about Mr. Kim told Daily NK.
“The problem is that after this picture is taken, Mr. Kim has little concern for whether these defectors are able to safely escape China or not. The local brokers will even send a report to Mr. Kim saying their work is complete as the defectors are loaded into Chinese police vehicles after getting arrested. Often times, the churches and missions sponsoring Mr. Kim do not pay enough attention to whether or not the defectors were able to make it all the way to South Korea or not.”
Defectors guided by brokers under Mr. Kim’s leadership are known to have been regularly apprehended by officers from the Chinese Ministry of Public Security.
“Last month, eight defectors guided by a broker in Mr. Kim’s network were apprehended in Yunnan Province, Kunming City. Mr. Kim did not alert their families about this until much later. As criticisms from the families mounted, Mr. Kim responded: ‘I’m currently attempting to save them,’ but has avoided shouldering any real responsibility. His main goal is to avoid responsibility so that his business can continue,” the source concluded.
