Kim Jong-un 'squandering inheritance' on missile tests, vanity projects

[Boilrig]

[QUOTE]A vital slush fund controlled by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has reportedly been drained by a series of missile and nuclear tests, and extravagant vanity projects.

Two Chinese sources with connections to North Korean government officials told Radio Free Asia that Kim has been exhausting his inheritance, a fund intended to run the country, since coming to power after the death of his father, Kim Jong-il, in 2011.

They alleged that the leadership's last-minute decision to take part in the South Korean Winter Olympics was part of a wider plan to boost the nation's failing economy.

"Due to Kim Jong-un's extravagant spending, the slush fund from his father, Kim Jong-il, is running out," said one source.

The source claimed to be "well-acquainted" with officials from Bureau 39, a secretive government body tasked with obtaining foreign currency for the North Korean elite through illicit activities.

"I heard them worrying about insufficient funds in Office No. 39 a number of times," he said.

The exact amount in Kim's slush fund is unknown. However, the young dictator has carried out four of North Korea's six nuclear tests, and so far tested more missiles than his father and grandfather combined, including 23 in 2017, and the country's first intercontinental ballistic missile.

South Korean government analysts have estimated North Korea's nuclear spending to be $1.1 billion–$3.2billion.

Kim has also splashed out on showpieces like the high rises of the Ryomyong Street neighbourhood in the capital, Pyongyang, and the luxury Masikryong Ski Resort, which critics have claimed the cash-strapped country cannot afford and which has been allegedly serviced by child labour.

Meanwhile, the economy has been hit by the double whammy of toughening international sanctions.
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[URL]http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11984699[/URL]

[UserDirk580]

A really interesting read is about the Kim "gift economy" where the heads of state keep things running by giving effectively bribes to the leadership of the country. The real issue being that the gifts keep escalating and for a country that's not really growing that doesn't work for too long without issues.

[Sableye]

[quote]
Kim has also splashed out on showpieces like the high rises of the Ryomyong Street neighbourhood in the capital, Pyongyang, and the luxury Masikryong Ski Resort, which critics have claimed the cash-strapped country cannot afford and which has been allegedly serviced by child labour.[/quote]

As funny as the image of the big fat dictator ridding around in a ski resort all to himself, staffed entirely by starving children is...

wait that's not funny at all, that's just sick that its not even a joke.