Interviews with Kim Kwang-jin

I would describe the North Korean regime as a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

On the outside, they proclaim to have socialism and communism but if you look closer into the system, you’ll find that it is no different from a monarchy where power is passed down from generation to generation.

So the Kims are the absolute gods of the regime. You can’t wrong them, they are the leaders of the people and the leaders for the unification of the Korean peninsula. Based on this system, the North Korean economy and society are going in the wrong direction.

[Three generations of the Kim family have ruled North Korea since 1948. Kim Il Sung (1912 – 1994) was the founder and leader of the North Korean state from 1948 until his death in 1994. Kim Jong Il (1941 – 2011) succeeded his father and led North Korea from 1994 until his death in 2011. Kim Jong Un (1983 – ) assumed power after his father’s death in 2011.]

So the North Korean regime mobilizes various tools and methods to maintain its power and control its people. It has many government units such as security, bodyguards, the police, the military and the legal authorities, all of them are mobilized towards this end.

And then on an ideological and psychological basis, the regime brainwashes North Koreans and turns them into slaves, and they also have a nationwide surveillance network which is also meant to keep tight control [over society]. They try to keep North Koreans in the dark and prevent any kind of information getting in.

In September 2003, Kim Kwang-jin and his family rushed to an airport in Southeast Asia to fly to freedom in Seoul, South Korea. Months earlier, Kim lived a privileged life working for the government’s overseas banking operations in Singapore. Then Kim fell out of favor after he was suspected of leaking information about the regime to foreign nationals. Before being summoned back to North Korea face severe punishment, Kim made the decision to defect with his family.

During his banking career, Kim helped earn millions of dollars for what he calls North Korea’s “Royal Court Economy,” i.e., the enterprises and often illegal schemes that financially supported the country’s totalitarian dictatorship.

Since defecting, Kim Kwang-jin helped expose the North Korean government’s underhanded financial practices. He has also become an advocate for North Korean freedom and human rights. Kim currently works at the Institute for National Security Strategy in Seoul and is a columnist for Radio Free Asia.