Suki Kim: Secret mission to uncover truth about North Korea

Kim, who was born in South Korea, posed as an Evangelical Christian who was teaching English at a North Korean school for six months. Photo / Facebook

Suki Kim was frightened every second she was in North Korea.

She was the first writer to ever go undercover, and if she was found out, the consequences would be grim.

Kim, who was born in South Korea, posed as an Evangelical Christian who was teaching English at a North Korean school for six months, but really was gathering information to expose the truths and cover ups in the heavily governed nation, reports News.com.au.

After writing pages of her book, Without You, There is no Us, she would strap them and other documents to her body along with USB sticks and would erase all activity from her computer.

"I was frightened every second," she told news.com.au.

"I created a document within a document. If they go through your stuff, which they would, if they were to find documents then it would look like classroom notes, that was my cover.

"If I were to be found there would be consequences. If they had got close to finding out my identity I wouldn't be here."

Kim shared her insight into North Korea following the death of Otto Warmbier, a US college student who was detained in the country for 17 months after he attempted to steal a political banner. When he was returned to his family earlier this month, he was in a coma and later died.

Otto Warmbier died after being detained in North Korea. Photo / Getty Images

"It's horrifying and heartbreaking and in some sense it's not surprising," Kim said.

"North Korea has kidnapped foreign citizens and has caused death of foreign citizens, in this case, the first American has been killed. We don't know exactly what happened. It's not a tourist resort."

The US announced earlier this week it was considering banning American citizens from visiting North Korea.

"I think tourism there's a problem. There are other reasons to go to North Korea, like with an organisation that goes there to help people, that should keep happening, the country needs it," Kim said.

"The country doesn't need tourism, I don't know what tourists are doing there, touring to me seems inhumane as well."

Elites live in fear

Kim said North Korea was a country where everything was manipulated and rehearsed.
"Whatever you end up seeing is presented to you by the regime, according to what they want you to see," she said.

"It's impossible to understand what's at the core of the country. Being embedded, I was able to experience daily life."

While undercover, Kim lived in a military compound with 270 young men.

Kim would dine with them for every meal because none of them were allowed out on their own, and she formed a close bond with them.

"Despite the complete surveillance, I was able to get to what they think and the complexity behind what it's like to live in the system of the great leader while still being a human being with your own thoughts. It's a system that doesn't encourage individuality," she said.

"They are not allowed to show it if they are wondering about the outside world. They have to be with someone at all times, they are busy 24/7, all day long and not alone, doing their great leader duties.

They take class and studies where they learn about the great leader and it's the same information over and over again.

"They are not allowed any free time to think and North Koreans have to attend a weekly meeting and have to report on each other so they can't really show it if they are curious of the outside world, they are not allowed to know about it but would have an inkling.

"They are human beings and they are smart, young and very alive. All that was squashed every second and any of it could get them and their family into trouble."

Kim said one of the biggest misunderstandings was North Korea was all about Kim Jong-un and his elite cronies.

"There's actually human beings in the regime and that kind of abusive, controlling system goes up way to the top, elites live in fear," she said.

A statue of Kim Il-sung to which any visitor to the North had to pay respects immediately upon arrival in Pyongyang. Photo / Getty Images

'I was threatened'

When Kim returned to America to release her book after her North Korean stint in 2011, the country became aware of what she had been doing.

"I was threatened by the school (where she worked), it worked in collaboration with Kim Jong-il. I was threatened that terrible things would happen and they would pressure me to hand them over my manuscript before publication. That went on for a while," she said.

"It was really difficult but the book from the initial conception took about a decade to research. Each step of the way was difficult, the scariest part was living there.

"As difficult as it was, the backlash was almost expected. Part of undercover work is trying to investigate a toxic and corrupt system. I knew it would displease people who brought me there."

North Korea doesn't play by the rules

Kim said North Korea would stop at nothing to have the control.

"It starves its own citizens, it's also a cult ideology. To make dictatorship work you have a mass being deprived of true education, they only learn about the great leader, they successfully dumbed down the nation of people - they are not dumb, the regime made them lack information, resources, individuality and will," she said.

"It's mandatory for every young man to join the army - the country deprives you of any humanity and the right to enjoy youth simply doesn't exist for North Koreans.

"The students had no idea what the internet was, their communication is blocked, information is blocked and they literally stop people travelling.

"Through cult ideology North Korea has absolute control over body and soul for this bogus concept of the great leader, that's why it holds so much power."

Kim said if the government was not afraid to kill its citizens then it would stop at nothing.
"That sense of rogueness has a tremendous power," she said.