“North Korea sent me abroad to be an undercover computer specialist … My salary financed the regime”

Image that shows a man with a cap and uniform working on a laptop with a north Korea flag as a background. — Photo foot, Jin-Su's testimony realizes a complex operation of the North Korean government to finance.

- Author, Beth Godwin y Julie Yoonnyung Lee
- Author's title, BBC Trending & BBC News
1 hour

Jin-Su states that, over the years, he used hundreds of false identity documents to request remote work in the computer science in Western companies. It was part of a vast undercover plan to raise funds for North Korea.

As BBC told the BBC in an exceptional interview, combining several works in the United States and Europe meant at least US $ 5,000 per month. Some companions won much more, he said.

Before deserting, Jin-Su, whose name was changed to protect their identity, was one of the thousands of people who believe they were sent abroad, to China and Russia, or countries in Africa and other continents, to participate in the dark operation directed by the hermetic North Korea.

North Korean computer workers are subject to close surveillance and few have spoken with the media, but Jin-Su gave a broad testimony to the BBC, which offers a revealing vision of what the daily life of those who work in this plot is and how they operate. His first -hand story confirms much of what has been estimated in UN reports and cybersecurity.

According to him, 85% of what he earned was sent to the regime. North Korea, which crosses a serious economic crisis, has been subject to international sanctions for years.

“We know it is like a robbery, but we accept it as our destiny,” says Jin-Su, and adds that “it is still much better than when we were in North Korea.”

According to a report by the UN Security Council published in March 2024, secret computer workers generate between US $ 250 and US $ 600 million a year to North Korea. The plan shot during the pandemic, when teleworking became common, and since then it has not stopped growing, according to the authorities and defense of cybersecurity.

Most workers look for a fixed salary to send it to the regime, but some have stolen data or hacked their employers and then demand a ransom.

Last year, an American court accused 14 North Koreans who allegedly won US $ 88 million working covertly and extorting US companies for a period of six years.

Last month, four North Koreans were accused that allegedly used fraudulent identities to get remote work in the computer science sector for a cryptocurrency company in the United States.

Get the jobs

Jin-Su worked for several years as a computer scientist for the Chinese regime before deserting. As he told the BBC, he and his teammates used to work in teams of ten people.

Internet access is limited in North Korea, but abroad these computer workers can operate more easily. They need to hide their nationality not only because they can earn more money by making themselves through Westerners, but also due to the wide international sanctions that weigh on North Korea, mainly in response to their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.

This plan is independent of computer piracy operations of North Korea, which also raise funds for the regime. Earlier this year, the Lazarus group, an infamous hacker group that is believed to work for North Korea, although it has never admitted it, it is estimated that it robbed US $ 1.5 billion to the BYBIT cryptocurrency company.

A woman smiles in front of a laptop: she is talking to someone per video call. Another woman looks at her. — Photo foot, The BBC spoke with Jin-Su per video call from London. For your safety, we protect your true identity.

Jin-his spent most of the time trying to get fraudulent identities that he could use to request a job. First, Chinese was passed and contacted people from Hungary, Turkey and other countries to ask them to give them their identity in exchange for a percentage of their profits, according to the BBC.

“If you put an” Asian face “in your profile, you will never get a job.”

Then, he used those identities provided to approach people from Western Europe and ask for his, which he then used to request work in the United States and Europe. Jin-his used to succeed with British citizens.

“With a little talk, people in the United Kingdom spent their identity very easily,” he said.

Workers who speak better English sometimes take care of the work. But many times websites do not necessarily require face -to -face interviews, and daily interactions occur on platforms such as Slack, which makes it easy to impersonate another person.

Jin-Su told the BBC that it focused mainly on the US market, “because salaries are higher.” He said that so many North Korean computer workers are finding work that, often, companies hire without knowing more than one. “It happens a lot,” he said.

It is understood that workers charge their earnings through facilitators with headquarters in the West and China. Last week, an American woman was sentenced to more than eight years in prison for crimes related to helping North Korean computer workers find work and send them money.

The BBC could not independently verify the details of the Jin-SU testimony, but through PSCore, an organization that defends human rights in North Korea, knew the testimony of another worker who deserted and supports his statements.

The BBC also spoke with another deserter, Hyun-Seung Lee, who met North Koreans who worked in the computer sector while traveling working for the Chinese regime. He confirmed that they had had similar experiences.

A growing problem

The BBC spoke with several hiring managers of the cybersecurity sector and the development of software that claim to have detected during their selection processes dozens of candidates who suspect that they are North Korean computer workers.

Rob Henley, co -founder of Ally Security in the United States, was recently hiring for a series of distance vacancies in his company and believes he interviewed up to 30 North Korean computer workers during the process.

“In a way, at first it was like a game trying to find out who was real and who was false, but immediately became quite annoying,” he said.

In the end, he turned to ask the candidates to show him in a video call that he was daytime in the place where they were.

“We were hiring only US candidates for these positions. There should be light outside, but I never saw it.”

In March, Dawid Moczadło, co -founder of Vidoc Security Lab, based in Poland, shared a video of a distance work interview in which the candidate seemed to be using artificial intelligence software to hide his face. After talking with experts, he concluded that the candidate could be a North Korean computer worker.

We contacted the North Korean embassy in London to communicate the accusations that appear in this article. We did not get an answer.

Screen capture of a video interview. Dawid Moczadło, co -founder of Vidoc Security Lab (right), interviews a candidate (left) who seems to be using AI software to hide his face. — Photo foot, According to the Get Real Security company, it is very likely that the candidate (on the left) was using some type of filter or artificial intelligence.

North Korea has been sending their workers abroad to obtain currencies. Up to 100,000 people work abroad in factories or restaurants, mainly in China and Russia.

After several years living in China, Jin-Su said that a “sense of confinement” accumulated in him due to his oppressive working conditions.

“They didn't let us out and we had to stay home all the time,” he said. “You can't exercise, you can't do whatever you want.”

However, North Korean computer workers have more freedom to access Western media when they are abroad, according to Jin-Su. “You see the real world. When we are abroad, we realize that something is wrong in North Korea.”

But, despite this, Jin-Su affirms that few North Korean computer workers thought about escaping like him.

“They simply take the money and return home, very few think of deserting.”

Although they only stay with a small part of what they earn, in North Korea that has a lot of value. In addition, deserting is very risky and difficult. Surveillance in China makes most captured. The few who manage to desert may not see their families again, and their relatives could be punished.

Jin-Su continues to work in the computer sector after deserting. He says that the skills he acquired working for the regime helped him adapt to his new life.

As he does not have several jobs with false documents, he earns less than when he worked for the North Korean regime. But, as you can stay with most of your income, you have more money in your pocket.

“I had become accustomed to making money doing illegal things. But now I work hard and win the money I deserve.”