North Korean traders make fake calls to cover Chinese phone use

The tactic has spread among traders in Hyesan following a surge in enforcement activity after a series of major political events, including the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea and elections for the Supreme People’s Assembly. With authorities increasingly suspicious of traders who lack records of international calls, traders are fabricating those records to deflect scrutiny.

“More traders in the city of Hyesan have been paying extra to make international calls to China on North Korean phones to throw enforcers off their scent,” said the source, who requested anonymity for security reasons. “The idea is to make it look like they’re not using Chinese-made phones.”

Chinese mobile phones have long been the preferred tool for traders working across the border. Whether engaged in sanctioned commerce or smuggling, traders rely on direct, affordable communication with Chinese counterparts at all times. North Korean authorities, however, require that cross-border calls be made on domestic phones.

“After the pandemic, people trading with China were ordered to make international phone calls on North Korean phones, but nobody obeys that rule,” the source said. “International phone calls are too expensive, and the caller has to foot the entire bill.”

The cost burden is substantial. International calls run approximately 12 Chinese yuan (around $1.65 USD) per minute, with partial minutes rounded up. A 15-minute call — the minimum typically needed to place an order — would cost roughly 180 yuan (about $24.80 USD). The expense forces traders to rush conversations, often hanging up before all the necessary information is exchanged and then calling back, compounding both the cost and frustration.

WeChat fills the gap left by costly calls

Chinese phones solve that problem. In recent years, most traders have shifted to devices pre-loaded with WeChat, using the app to exchange order details, quantities, and prices by text rather than voice. WeChat’s read receipts and chat logs have made it a preferred platform for managing transactions in both directions across the border.

Chinese trading partners historically topped up prepaid minutes on the Chinese phones used by North Korean traders, and that informal arrangement has continued as WeChat has taken over much of the communication load.

To protect access to those devices, traders have adopted a layered approach. They place short, two-to-three-minute calls on their North Korean phones to establish a plausible record, then switch to Chinese handsets to conduct actual business. The dummy calls serve as a ready-made cover story: a trader caught with a Chinese phone can claim it was found on the street, point to their domestic call history as proof of compliance, and hope to walk away with a warning.

“There are rumors that the authorities get suspicious when people doing business with China don’t have a record of international phone calls. So traders are going out of their way to leave a fake record,” the source said.

The cycle of enforcement and workaround shows little sign of breaking. “The tougher the crackdown on Chinese phones, the more creative people get about using them,” the source said. “I doubt the authorities will ever be able to eliminate them entirely.”

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