North Korean Defectors Sold Out for Profit in China

Escaping North Korea is already a high-risk gamble, but what is even more chilling is the rise of fake helpers – individuals in China who claim to assist defectors in reaching South Korea but ultimately turn them over to law enforcement in exchange for financial rewards.

AN EXPANDING DECEPTIVE SCHEME

Cut off from the outside world and with no means of navigating their escape alone, North Korean defectors have no choice but to entrust their fate to brokers and guides. As they undertake the arduous path across China, these intermediaries become their lifeline. Yet, it is no secret that some brokers exploit this desperation, deceiving defectors with promises of “newly-developed routes” or other false assurances to extort money. While such scams have existed for years, the troubling reality is that they are becoming increasingly widespread. What was once an isolated problem has now become a lucrative business for some, with even local Chinese residents openly acknowledging the practice as a way to earn quick money. Many justify their actions by claiming they are abiding by the law — framing their deception as not just legal but even righteous in the eyes of the authorities.

According to DailyNK, some Chinese drivers, initially posing as confidants, betray their passengers for monetary gains. Defectors move in a relay system along the modern day “underground railroad”, switching vehicles at checkpoint to evade surveillance – originally designed to reduce the risk of capture. However, this strategy has now become perilous, as drivers reporting defectors can earn “double profits” by collecting both transportation fees and government rewards for turning them in. Moreover, even drivers trying to help defectors face their own perils, as those caught assisting escapees can be turned in for rewards as well. One reported case involved two North Korean defectors, one in their 50s and the other in their 30s, travelling across China from Jilin province. Their first driver secretly reported them, but authorities waited until they switched vehicles in Hunan province to detain not only the defectors but also their second driver, who had unknowingly become entangled in the unfolding trap.

THE ROLE OF CHONSUNJOKS

Many perpetrators are Chosunjoks — ethnic Koreans in China who share deep ancestral ties with defectors — or they disguise themselves as such to gain trust by exploiting this perceived kinship as distant relatives. A common method to target defectors, the majority of whom are women, is through fraudulent matchmaking scams. These defectors are promised a future with wealthy Chinese bachelors, often described as “tall, rich and handsome.” To further convince these young women, the perpetrators posing as sympathetic allies emphasize the deep cultural importance of marriage for women in Chosun society, portraying it as an essential path to stability and acceptance. After charging exorbitant fees, they hand their victims to authorities.

Another alarming case involved a 50-year-old Chosunjok man in Jilin province who has been approaching defectors, pretending to be a trusted escape facilitator, offering transportation and shelter, only to later report them to the police. According to a defector, escaping to South Korea now requires at least 2 million won (approximately $1,500 USD), a sum many defectors cannot afford. Desperate, they fall for this middleman’s false claim of anonymous donations funding their passage. He reportedly spoke with remarkable sincerity, and his insistence on hosting only two or three people at a time for security reasons make his scheme dangerously convincing. The number of victims remains unknown but is far more than just one or two. In mid-March, three female defectors stayed with this man, hoping to reach South Korea. One day, two stepped outside and met a Chinese neighbor, who warned them that police had recently raided their residence and arrested the third defector, a young woman in her 20s, who was left behind. Her family in China confirms she is now imprisoned and awaiting repatriation to North Korea, where an uncertain fate awaits her. It is chilling to know that this fraudulent intermediary has been deceiving defectors since December 2024 and remains active, luring new victims into his trap.

Sadly, the growth of these betrayal-for-profit schemes is likely linked to China’s high unemployment rates. With economic hardships affecting many, some individuals – particularly in Korean-speaking regions in China – see defectors as an easy source for quick financial gains.

The Closing Door: Sharp Drop in North Korean Defectors Signals Tighter Control

North Korea's movement restrictions have reached new heights, resulting in a dramatic reduction in the number of defectors escaping the country. In 2019, over 1,000 North Koreans successfully fled to South Korea. By 2021, that number had plummeted to a mere 63.

More recently, only 181 defectors — 159 women and 22 men — arrived in South Korea between January and September of last year, according to a United Nations human rights report. These current numbers represent a small fraction of past levels, highlighting the tightening grip of the regime on its citizens.

Why the Dramatic Drop?

This sharp decline is largely due to extremely strict controls: severe restrictions on movement internally, increased use of surveillance technology along an already heavily fortified border, and even "shoot-on-sight" orders for anyone approaching the border with China, making escape far more perilous than before.

A Shift in Who Escapes: From Trafficked Women...

Historically, trafficked women often escaped through China, where they were subjected to exploitation such as forced marriages and sex trafficking, driven by the severe gender imbalance that fostered a black market for brides. Defector tales once echoed stories like Chae-ran's, who recounted how she was transported to northwestern China after finishing high school and was forced to choose between working in a bar entertaining customers or marrying a Chinese farmer eight years her senior, recalling that “I wanted to cry, but I knew nothing would change even if I did.”

...To Handpicked Workers

The recent UN report highlights a demographic shift. Now, many arrivals in South Korea are laborers officially sent abroad – primarily to China and Russia – specifically to earn foreign currency for the Kim regime. Despite the partial reopening of borders after COVID-19 closures, only these few, often selected for their perceived loyalty, seem able to find opportunities to flee.

Escape from Forced Labor Abroad

Selection criteria for overseas work often require demonstrating unwavering loyalty and being married. This allows Pyongyang to use potential repercussions against families left behind as a powerful tool to ensure compliance. Laborers work under strict surveillance by government minders, making escape difficult.

However, the harsh conditions—akin to modern-day slavery with forced multi-year contracts, confiscated passports, and most wages siphoned off by the government—combined with the prospect of eventual return to North Korea, compel some to defect. They seize rare moments when supervision might be less intense, such as during travel between job sites.

Families Left Behind: Stuck in an Invisible Prison

For the families of defectors who remain in North Korea, the consequences are severe and immediate. Even if they avoid execution or labor camps, they endure "intensified surveillance and suspicion," confining them to what observers call an "invisible prison."

Treated as "dangerous elements" and enemies of the state, one defector’s relative described how “they must live their entire lives feeling like criminals... They gradually began avoiding people because having every breath, meal, and word monitored and reported became unbearable.”

Security agencies heavily restrict the lives of these families. They are frequently denied travel permits, particularly to border regions, out of fear they might also attempt to defect or contact the outside world for information or money. One family reportedly abandoned travel to a relative's wedding after realizing security agents were following them, wishing to avoid causing problems for their hosts.

These inhumane restrictions not only isolate families within North Korea but also amplify the immense burden of guilt and worry carried by defectors living in freedom.

North Korean Refugees' Instilled Reverence

A few years ago, we met a North Korean refugee whose house caught fire while home with his family in North Korea. He was able to save his wife and daughter, he said. But after the fire was extinguished he was arrested and imprisoned. Every North Korean household is given a picture of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. Each citizen must hang these pictures in a prominent place in their home and make sure they are dusted and straightened regularly. These photos are of utmost importance in the lives of North Koreans.

This man was arrested because he went into his home to save his wife and daughter, not the pictures. He was recently released from several years in prison and escaped to China as a North Korean refugee.

People often ask us how the North Korean regime is able to retain power. A western government that instilled such draconian measures, they say, would surely incite a revolt. But the North Korean regime holds power because it instills an unshakeable fear in the hearts and minds of its citizens. But times are changing and the vice grip the regime once had on the hearts and minds of its people is eroding.

North Korea's control on the minds of its citizens is an issue we have to deal with for many of the North Korean refugees we've met, especially when we started working with them in 2003. North Korean refugees would cower in fear when we would first meet them. They were taught that Americans are baby-eating monsters.

But things are changing. As information is creeping into North Korea from the outside world, the regime is losing its “reverence capital.” The result of this isn’t a callousness to authority and power, but quite the opposite, the people of North Korea have been left with a deep longing to honor a higher authority.

North Korean refugees are coming to China savvy of the situation they are in. They know about their government. They know about the prosperity of the outside world. But with this knowledge they are also seeking something else essential to their lives.

Melanie Kirkpatrick’s book, “Escape From North Korea” describes the conversion rates of North Korean refugees. Many people insist that North Koreans are converting in China because they are “rice Christians.” Meaning, they convert to receive aid. If this was true, we would not be seeing the robust Christian population of North Korean defectors in South Korea, most of whom claim that they converted in China, according to Kirkpatrick.

Crossing Borders believes the only thing that can satisfy the longing in a person's heart is God. We do not force this belief on anyone but many do come to believe what we do.

A version of this piece was originally posted in 2013.