North Korean defectors in China alarmed as Kuaishou messages reach police

Chinese authorities are monitoring North Korean defectors through Kuaishou, a popular Chinese short-video and messaging platform, raising alarm among defectors hiding in China.

According to a Daily NK source inside China, a defector living in Jilin province used Kuaishou on May 11 to exchange messages with another defector in Shenyang, Liaoning province, about plans to travel to South Korea. Two days later, the defector was summoned by Chinese public security police for questioning.

During the interrogation, police confronted the defector with the contents of the Kuaishou messages, asking whether the person had been planning to go to South Korea and how the person had come to know a broker. When the defector denied everything, investigators pressed further, asking how the two knew each other and whether they had met in China or already known each other in North Korea.

Police released the defector only after issuing a warning to stay out of trouble and demanding that the person report any defectors attempting to reach South Korea, as well as any brokers helping them. Shaken that police had accessed Kuaishou messages, the defector warned others in the area to be careful using the platform.

The defector in Shenyang who had exchanged messages with the Jilin province defector had not yet been called in for questioning as of the time of reporting, but was keeping a low profile out of fear of being targeted next. The source said the Shenyang defector was worried that police might be watching and could come to the door at any time, and had begun unfollowing the accounts of other defectors on the platform.

Kuaishou seen as ‘safe’ — until now

Defectors registered with Chinese public security authorities have long assumed their text messages and WeChat communications are being monitored, a perception reinforced by past cases in which defectors were summoned after mentioning South Korea in those channels. Two to three years ago, word spread among defectors in China that Kuaishou was relatively safe to use. Many began relying on it as their primary means of sensitive communication, precisely because they believed police were not monitoring it closely.

Kuaishou is a major Chinese social media application that combines short-video sharing with private messaging and is used widely across China.

News that Kuaishou conversations are now being monitored has spread quickly and unsettled many defectors. The source quoted defectors as saying, “I thought Kuaishou was safe — this is a shock,” “There is no safe app here,” and “Are they listening to our every breath?”

The source noted that defectors who are not planning to go to South Korea have largely brushed off the news, but those who are making plans are now deleting accounts and avoiding online contact entirely to stay off the radar of public security authorities.

It remains unclear whether this case resulted from surveillance specifically targeting defectors or from a broader tightening of Chinese internet censorship that swept up their communications incidentally. The source said authorities may have been conducting a general crackdown rather than a targeted operation.

Reports have been circulating even among Chinese nationals that online surveillance and enforcement by public security authorities have intensified since China strengthened its counter-espionage law. Defectors, who are considered illegal immigrants under Chinese law, face an even more precarious position in that environment, the source said.

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