North Korea is secretly sending thousands of IT workers abroad to earn money for its government, often using fake identities to get remote tech jobs with Western firms.
This strange reality came to light when “Jin-su,” a former North Korean IT worker, was interviewed by BBC. He revealed he once juggled several IT jobs in the US and Europe at once, earning at least $5,000 a month. But almost all of his wages, up to 85%, had to be sent back home to North Korea. “We know it’s like robbery, but we just accept it as our fate,” Jin-su said. “It’s still much better than when we were in North Korea.”
Experts estimate that these undercover IT workers are making North Korea between $250 million and $600 million every year. The scheme grew during the pandemic, as remote jobs became more common and harder to trace. North Korean workers manage everything from coding to customer support, often without ever showing their real faces. They get away with it by “borrowing” real identities from people in countries like Hungary, Turkey, and the UK, a trick that lets them look like normal job candidates on freelancing platforms.
Some of these workers even get involved in fraud or hacking, stealing company data or demanding ransom. US authorities are worried. Last year, the US government indicted 14 North Koreans accused of stealing $88 million from American companies, and more were caught this year for working at US crypto startups with fake IDs.
“We weren’t allowed to go out and had to stay indoors all the time,” Jin-su recalled of his time working in China for the regime. But he used the internet to watch Western media and eventually decided to escape, though he says most North Korean workers never consider defecting. The risks are just too high: if caught, they could be sent back home for harsh punishment, and their families might suffer too.
Hiring managers around the world say they’re seeing more suspected North Korean applicants. Some have started doing video calls just to confirm who’s real. One US tech recruiter said, “It started out almost like a game, can you spot the North Korean? but it quickly became a real headache.”
Today, even though Jin-su earns less than before, he can actually keep what he makes. “Now I work hard and earn the money I deserve”
This secret network isn’t just about clever online scams, it is a big source of money supporting the North Korean government according to Jin-su, helping it dodge international sanctions, and raising serious cyber-security worries for companies everywhere.
