From Seoul to Pyongyang: the secret remittance networks keeping North Korean families alive

"The 30-year-old has been able to check that the roof was repaired and that crops are growing tangible proof that the money he sent home had reached his family safely. Sending money was the simplest way for me to feel connected to my family, Park says, adding that he worries that without it, his brother might be drafted and sent to fight in Russia because his family will not have enough to pay bribes to get fake medical certificates so as to be exempt."

"Park fled North Korea in 2012 and now lives in Seoul, and the remittances he sent travelled one of the world's most dangerous financial routes, relying on a clandestine network that was almost decimated by Covid border closures. But amid an unprecedented crackdown in South Korea and the wider threat of scams, Park has been unable to send his family money for two years."

"Communication relies on Chinese phones that work near the border, with families sometimes sending video clips of themselves counting the money to confirm receipt. As more North Koreans began to escape from China to South Korea, the number who wanted to send money to their families increased, says Ju Su-yeon, who with her husband claims to have helped facilitate the escape of more than 2,500 North Koreans and later arranged remittances for many families."

North Korean defectors in South Korea send remittances through clandestine cross-border networks to support family members. Remittances travel via brokers who convert won to Chinese currency, pass funds through Chinese intermediaries, then smuggle money into North Korea where local brokers arrange delivery. Communication relies on Chinese phones near the border and families sometimes send video clips counting money to confirm receipt. Covid border closures almost decimated these networks, and an unprecedented crackdown in South Korea plus wider scam threats have prevented some defectors from sending funds for two years. Demand for remittances increased as more North Koreans escaped to South Korea.

Read at www.theguardian.com