WORLD NEWS: North Korean intel agencies escalate extortion of remittance brokers

North Korean intel agencies escalate extortion of remittance brokers
source: DailyNK

An illustration showing how remittance fees work. If a defector living
in South Korea sends 1 million KRW (approximately 930 USD)
to their family in North Korea, on average an estimated 100,000 KRW ends up going
to a South Korean broker, 150,000 KRW goes to a Chinese broker,
200,000 KRW goes to a North Korean broker, and 200,000 goes to the
Ministry of State Security or Ministry of People’s Safety.
This means that the defector’s family ultimately receives about 350,000 KRW
from the transaction.


An increasing number of remittance brokers are being apprehended and held in custody by North Korea’s intelligence agencies, report inside sources. The brokers, who are active in the border region near China, facilitate cash transfers for a fee.


“Recently, the Ministry of State Security has been arresting more people involved in the remittance business around the border region and throughout the whole country,” an inside source from Ryanggang Province told Daily NK on April 20 during a telephone call, adding that the apprehensions are not aimed at cracking down on the behavior, but rather designed to extract bribes.


Ordinarily, the Ministry of State Security (MSS) or the Ministry of People's Security (MPS) use the fact that remittances are considered illegal to demand bribes from the brokers in exchange for looking the other way. They thus become an intermediary step in the remittance process. However, in order to grab a larger piece of the pie, they have instead started apprehending the remittance brokers so they can shake them down.


“Some people have been wondering, ‘Why is the MSS doing this when the brokers already cooperate with them?’ The reason is because when the MSS believes that the size of the fee (bribe) they get is too small, they can instead arrest the broker, take them in for questioning, and use the process to demand a larger cut in exchange for granting the broker’s release,” the source explained.


Another reason explaining the rise in this behavior, according to the source, is the fact that the MSS needed money for the Day of the Sun (Kim Il Sung’s birthday) on April 15. It’s the country’s most important holiday, and money is urgently needed, so it’s also likely that the brokers were targeted to help cover those expenses.”


A source in North Hamgyong Province added that the brokers who have been caught by the MSS and MPS pay different bribe amounts depending on where they have been apprehended. Those in the interior regions pay less than those in the border region.


“The MSS and MPS have a larger appetite (for bribes) in the border region, so if you get caught once, you need to pay 10,000 RMB (about 1,500 USD). Brokers caught wiring money from the border region into the interior region can get away with paying about half this amount and still satisfy the official who apprehended them," he said.


Daily NK published news in February this year suggesting that MSS agents are threatening remittance brokers in the borderlands near China and demanding a larger cut.


“The result is that ordinary residents, lacking the power to resist, end up paying more in bribes yet again. This kind of irrationalism is going to continue in our country until the day comes that we stop worrying about food and live well,” the North Hamgyong Province-based source said.