A remittance broker in Hyesan, Ryanggang province, who had worked as a state security informant for years, was arrested by state security officers in mid-January. The arrest has fueled public criticism that officers are turning on their own informants to pad performance numbers ahead of the Ninth Party Congress.
"One Hyesan resident who worked as a remittance broker and state security informant has been detained after being arrested by state security officers in mid-January," a source in Ryanggang province, who requested anonymity for security reasons, told Daily NK recently. "People were shocked when they learned that even a person who acted as a state security informant was arrested."
According to the source, the broker-informant, identified simply as "A," was previously arrested by state security officers in 2018 for using a Chinese-made mobile phone. At the time, officers considered charging her with spying after finding a South Korean number on her phone, and rumors circulated that she would be sent to a political prison camp.
"A" avoided that fate by paying a substantial bribe to state security officers, who released her on the condition that she work as an informant. In that role, "A" reported to state security agents on the movements and foreign contacts of families of North Korean defectors while continuing her work as a remittance broker, delivering money sent by defectors living in South Korea and China to their families still in North Korea.
"A's" troubles began when she expanded her activities even as authorities clamped down on users of Chinese-made mobile phones in border regions ahead of the Ninth Party Congress. While other remittance brokers lay low during the cleanup campaign, "A" charged premium fees to connect North Korean defectors with their families through video calls, drawing more clients to her services.
As her remittance business grew, "A" began concealing some details from her state security handlers. Officers eventually learned of her hidden activities through another informant, a sign of the double and triple-layered surveillance structure in which even informants monitored one another. State security officers staked out "A" for several days before arresting her as soon as she pulled out her Chinese-made mobile phone.
News of the arrest drew sharp public criticism. People said that "nobody should trust state security officers," that officers "kindly smile in your face while slapping the back of the head," and that they "specialize in raising people for the slaughter."
Despite knowing that "A" had informed on them to state security, many expressed sympathy for the broker. According to the source, acquaintances described "A" as someone who occasionally helped people in need. "People said 'A' acted as an informant to survive, not because they were a bad person," the source said. "The incident has caused criticism of state security officers to grow."
Speculation has emerged that the arrest was intended to boost state security's arrest numbers ahead of the Ninth Party Congress. People say that because crackdown results are directly tied to the assessed loyalty of state security officers and reflected in internal evaluations, officers have begun arresting even their own informants.
"People who know of this behavior are unlikely to voluntarily cooperate with state security officers in the future," the source said. "Distrust of state security has grown as a result of the incident, when faith in the criminal justice system was already low enough."
The fate of "A" remains unclear. Some people believe she will eventually be released, while others say she is unlikely to go free anytime soon, even if bribes are paid.
