Secret
agents in border areas of North Korea are extorting payoffs from residents in exchange for keeping silent about illicit international phone calls, an inside source has reported to Daily NK.
The
source in North Hamkyung Province told Daily NK on July 22nd, “At the
beginning of this year they installed radio wave detectors around here to pick up signals from illegal calls. Calling out from much of the
Hoeryong region has become much more difficult.”
Though there is nothing new about bribery and extortion in North Korea; the change is that security forces now have a greater ability to detect calls being made by local residents to family and friends abroad.
“Those
leeches [meaning security officials and agents] are using the new equipment to get as
much money from us as they can,” the source went on.
At the
end of last year, the extra detectors were brought into the borderlands to try and prevent information leaking out via residents
speaking with others outside the country. As a result, it is
now impossible to make calls from the border towns of Hoeryong,
except for the Yuseon district and one other neighboring area, and Musan, except in the town’s Heungam region.
The
installed detectors operate 24hrs a day, and security patrols receive notification of any activity from Chinese phones. Security agents carry
hand-held detectors that can pinpoint the exact location of any transmitted
signal, allowing callers to be arrested. Residents are therefore forced to travel to more distant locations to attempt calls.
However,
security agents are often prepared to let the activity go on in exchange for a portion of any
remittances residents may receive from family overseas, the source said.
She explained, “In areas like the Yuseon district of Hoeryong and Heungam in
Musan the detection equipment exists but making calls isn’t a problem” as
long as you “fork over 20% of the wired funds you received.”
“The
newly revised criminal code means we are vulnerable to severe punishment if
calls to or from China or South Korea are picked up. So when we get caught by guards
it is common to hand over some of the money received from
family living abroad in order to dodge the repercussions.” She concluded,
“20% leaves us with little, but at least you know you’re safe.”
Remittances through extended chains via China are
already subject to 30%+ commission. However, if the caller is caught and officially arrested, his or her mobile phone and all remitted funds are
immediately confiscated. To avoid this exponentially more troubling outcome,
residents have adopted a “grin and bear it” mentality; in other words, paying 20% for security.
“To avoid
detection, most people head to the mountains to make their calls, but the way out
of town is replete with guard posts and tight inspections for people passing
through,” the source explained. “Most people stash their SIM card
somewhere in the mountains and pass through the guard posts carrying only the
phone tucked away in a bag or on their person.”
