North Korea sent me abroad to be a secret IT worker. My wages funded the regime

Jin-su says over the years he used hundreds of fake IDs to apply for remote IT work with Western companies. It was part of a vast undercover scheme to raise funds for North Korea. Juggling multiple jobs across the US and Europe would make him at least $5,000 (£3,750) a month, he told the BBC in a rare interview. Some colleagues, he said, would earn much more.

Before he defected, Jin-su - whose name has been changed to protect his identity - was one of thousands believed to have been sent abroad to China and Russia, or countries in Africa and elsewhere, to take part in the shadowy operation run by secretive North Korea.

North Korean IT workers are closely monitored and few have spoken to the media, but Jin-su has provided extensive testimony to the BBC, giving a revealing insight into what daily life is like for those working the scam, and how they operate. His first-hand account confirms much of what has been estimated in UN and cyber security reports.

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