No one knew he was an IT worker.
How many forensic scientists did it take to work that one out? 😂
I dont understand one thing, if North Korea does not even have good computers how do they train their agents?
No need for good computers to train agents. They don’t need to play crysis to train as hackers. Something on the level of a Pi (or more accurately of a 2010 laptop) is good enough.
Didn’t they get a lot of computer hardware from Russia recently?
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.
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.
Normal people can, yes, but .ml isn’t full of normal people. There’s a good reason for the instance’s stereotype.
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.
They are reporting on what he told them. Would you expect a news outlet to be able to somehow verify the testimony of a prisoner of war before reporting on it?
The title and article both make it clear that they are reporting his story.
Additionally, the rest of the article - including the ones before and after your quote - discusses numerous cases of other similar scenarios.
Would you expect a news outlet to be able to somehow verify the testimony of a prisoner of war before reporting on it?
“If the circumstance were different would you expect something different?” is what you are asking me. The interviewee isn’t a POW, but a defector. And not an escapee, because according to the article he was already sent abroad, so it’s not like he fled with merely the clothes on his back and a story to tell. So I would presume he would have a bit more evidence to share with the BBC than just a story, just as many of the people responding to me seem to presume that because it’s been reported by the BBC it’s prima facie undeniably true.
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.
You’re tedious and annoying.
If tedious and annoying means you can’t handle reality, yes, yes I am.
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”?
Tankies just aren’t serious people.
On second thought let’s not go to lemmy.ml. It is a silly place.
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?
Why does this story magically no longer become interesting because of a group that helps defected NKs?
There is nothing magic about it. The organization that’s cited isn’t the problem. The problem is the BBC cites that org as proof that this person’s claims are true. But neither that org nor the BBC have said, “we have corroborated Jin-su’s story.” On the contrary, the BBC just admits they didn’t or couldn’t corroborate the story themselves. So in my mind I may as well have read this article on any rando’s blog post, or in the NYT in 2001 under a Judith Miller byline. It lacks credence.
I wouldn’t have had anything to say if BBC said that they reviewed some documents that showed Jin-su’s claim. Maybe a few of the “hundreds” of fake IDs that he used, for example. But instead they just read another testimony from PSCORE. Was that other testimony verified? They don’t bother explaining. So they just use an unverified testimony from PSCORE and pass that off to make the reader believe that that’s good enough in place of actually verifying Jin-su’s testimony!
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.
Lol another ml that thinks NK is a paradise
