Ask a North Korean: how do defectors keep contact with relatives in the North? | NK News
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September 28, 2026Sep 28, 2026

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Ask A North Korean

Ask a North Korean: how do defectors keep contact with relatives in the North?

"North Korea is sealed off from the rest of the world, but defectors are able to make contact"

Good morning, afternoon, evening, or night, fellow Ask a North Korean-ers, wherever you may be!

Welcome back to the NK News feature where you can email in with your question about life in the DPRK and have it answered by our very own defector writers.

Today’s question comes from Sou Wong in Chiang Mai, Thailand, who asks how defectors in South Korea contact friends and family in the North.

When speculation about Kim Jong Un’s health was made worldwide as he disappeared for 21 days in April this year, defectors were often quotedin the media reporting what their contacts