They need to disguise their nationality not just because they can get paid more by impersonating Westerners, but due to the extensive international sanctions North Korea is under

The BBC cannot independently verify the specifics of Jin-su's testimony, but through PSCORE, an organisation which advocates for North Korean human rights, we've read testimony from another IT worker who defected that supports Jin-su's claims.

Oh. Ok. You'd think he can prove something with like a pay stub, at minimum. But I guess the standard of proof when reporting on N Korea is "an anti-n korea org also said so." I was genuinely interested in this article until that line.

Wait... you're doubtful because it's coming from a anti-NK instance? A pay stub is just going to show he worked. He could have bought and sent bitcoin or done so with cash drop offs. Why does this story magically no longer become interesting because of a group that helps defected NKs?

ml and their daydream of a perfect NK is hilarious to see in the wild.

You can have healthy skepticism without jumping to the other end of the spectrum of DPRK stan.

It's no longer interesting because it's probably bullshit - which is par for the course for these CIA cutouts. These are the same groups that push absurd ideas about state-mandated haircuts, Kim Jong Un dying, that Kim Jong Un executed his ex, that North Korea banned sarcasm, that Kim Jong Il claims he once shot 11 straight holes in one, etc... these pieces get absolutely eaten up by western liberals who, in the next breath, will call citizens of the DPRK the most propagandized on earth.

The reason China spreads so much propaganda about North Korea actually being totally normal and everything bad you hear about it actually being CIA propaganda lies/because of western sanctions, is because they don't want to admit any responsibility for being the largest trading partner to a despotic authoritarian regime.

That's why you only see this kind of weird denialism around North Korea, and not the other places with shitty leaders and backwards authoritarian laws.

You are repeating Chinese propaganda. You need to understand North Korea isn't socialist. China isn't socialist. And just because America, a country that has done a lot of anti-socialist shitty things, says that North Korea is run by a despot, doesn't mean they're wrong. North Korea is run by a despot. Just because people have said things about North Korea that have been proven wrong, doesn't mean everything ever said about North Korea is wrong.

an anti-n korea org

No, an organization that advocates for North Korean human rights. That's a pro-north korea org.

You gonna tell me that people who have a problem with Pol Pot are "Anti-Cambodian", Mr ".ml"?

I don't get it, why the inquisitive fave?

I just see people calling this a scam so much when sometimes it's literally just people getting a job when they're not allowed to be paid. That paired with "they pretend to be westerners so they can get paid more" like well why is it that westerners get paid more than Asians? Just a real interesting quote.

There are also reports by companies and american judiciary system. Now, those are biased voices too, they lack clear proof of what happened, and they probably make it bigger than it is, but i find it unlikely that this is 100% bs and staging : if i had that much resources to pour into staging something, i think it would be more convincing.

Normal people can, yes, but .ml isn't full of normal people. There's a good reason for the instance's stereotype.

I guess because Russia and China, the countries they worked in, think Westerners can code better than North Koreans?

I don't know if I'd call it a scam so much as slavery.

You're not addressing the fact that BBC admits they didn't/couldn't substantiate his claims, which apparently is no problem for your own journalistic standards.

I'm not doubting the N Korean scheme to infiltrate IT jobs. There's even that woman who was prosecuted (I think she lived in Arizona?) because she is one person who acted as a facilitator for this scheme. My point is the BBC ran a story with an "anonymous" source then admits in the middle that they couldn't substantiate any of the claims. That's the problem here.

Tankies just aren't serious people.

Okay, my mistake, i misinterpreted it. To be fair with BBC, they point out in the title and article that this is just some transcript of someone anonymous, and they try to tie each allegation with reports from other sources to back up their likeliness. I guess it's the best you can do with someone anonymous ? Revealing the company, dates, or town might compromise the anonymity. I have this low-key uncomfortable feeling of "well, there's nothing that proves it" with most anonymous reports i read or hear, even when it's for events that are common otherwise.

In cases like these the journalists can and often do say something to the effect of they were able to corroborate the claims. But you're super right about being careful, because they also can mishandle the data they receive to the point where they dox the anonymous source, too. That's what happened with Reality Winner and The Intercept. They botched it, and she was arrested.

Why would i address that?
Was i ordered to adress anything other than what I've already commented on?

Have I been compelled to address it?

Do i believe in any way that NK isn't unfortunately a shithole fascist dictatorship of a country?

Do i feel bad for you for wanting to think NK is a theme park sunday stroll paradise?

No.