2019年经济学人 向朝鲜汇款的秘密渠道(2)（在线收听）

That is low compared with remittances from workers sent abroad by the state, which are estimated to be in the hundreds of millions.

和该国派往国外工人的汇款相比较低，据估国外工人往韩国国内的汇款为亿万美元。

(Sanctions require that these overseas workers return home by the end of this year.)

（制裁要求那些海外工人今年年底前回国。）

But it is substantial both relative to North Korean GDP per person, reckoned to be between $1,000 and $2,000 a year,

但不管是相对于朝鲜人均GDP（预估为1千美元到2千美元一年）

and as a share of income earned by North Koreans in South Korea, who make around $1,300 a month on average.

还是朝鲜人在韩国的所得份额（平均每个月赚约1300美元），这个金额都非常巨大。

The majority of recipients live in North Hamgyeong and Yanggang on the northern border with China,

大部分受助者都生活在咸镜北道和中国北境两江道，

the home provinces of most of those fleeing the North. (The proximity to the Chinese border also enables communication using smuggled Chinese sim cards.)

大部分逃离朝鲜的人都住在这些省。（中国边界附近也能够使用走私的中国SIM卡打电话。）

The money is sent through a sophisticated network of brokers in South Korea, China and North Korea.

钱都是通过韩国、中国和朝鲜的一个复杂的经纪人网络转账。

Like the majority of refugees, these are usually women; often less compelled to work for the state,

和大部分逃亡者一样，这些通常是女性；通常不会强迫她们为国家工作，

they are more active in the North's informal economy than men.

她们在朝鲜的非正式经济中比男性更加活跃。

If a refugee in South Korea wants to make a transfer, she may contact a broker in the North who owes a smuggler in China.

如果一个在韩国的逃亡者想要转账，她可能会联系一位欠中国走私者钱的朝鲜经纪人。

The refugee may offer to pay some portion of the broker's debt;

逃亡者可以先替这位经纪人还一些债；

in return, the intermediary gives an equivalent amount to the refugee's family in the North, usually in dollars or Chinese yuan.

作为回报，中间人要给这位逃亡者在朝鲜的家人同等数额的钱，通常是美元或人民币。

The system is based on trust—and extravagant fees. The broker who facilitates the transaction takes a cut of around 30%.

这一体系是基于信任—以及高额的收费。促成这笔交易的经纪人要抽取30%的费用。

Uninitiated participants with weak networks may fall victim to scams, says Ms Kim, though she claims they are rare:

在这个脆弱网络中，没有经验的参与者可能会成为骗局的受害者，Kim说到，虽然她声称这种情况很少发生：

wronged customers can get their brokers into trouble by reporting them to the Chinese or North Korean authorities.

被骗的客户可能会向中国或朝鲜当局举报他们的经纪人，让他们陷入麻烦。

In a few cases, money flows the other way. A small number of refugees surveyed by NKDB said that they had received money from relatives in the North.

在少数情况下，资金会反向流动。NKDB调查中的少数逃亡者表示他们收到了朝鲜亲戚的钱。

But those who make it abroad are vastly more likely to be able to support their relatives.

但是那些逃到国外的人极可能有能力帮衬他们的亲戚。

That this complicates relationships is not lost on Ms Kim.

这种复杂化的关系没有影响到Kim。

"I didn't know my father was dead for two years because my aunt lied to me," she says. "But I understand why she did it."

“我不知道我的父亲已经去世两年了，我的姑妈向我撒谎了，”她说道。“但我明白她为什么这么做。”