Editor's note: This is Part 1 of a two-part series exploring North Korea’s IT worker program through the experiences of former IT workers.

North Korea’s army of remote information technology (IT) workers has become notorious in recent years for infiltrating some of the world’s biggest companies, raking in millions to finance Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions. 

But this shadow workforce did not emerge overnight.

In exclusive interviews with NK Pro, three former North Korean IT workers offered a rare behind-the-scenes account of how the program took shape, detailing how they were recruited