It has been reported that a high-ranking North Korean military official has absconded with over 40 billion KRW ($30 million) of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s slush funds.
According to Money Today’s report on the 10th, a top official dispatched to China for North Korean military modernization fled last month after embezzling approximately $30 million.
The $30 million is 30% of the $100 million slush money Kim created for weapon modernization. The media reported that the person who embezzled the funds may have recently entered South Korea, as countries like the United States and Europe do not recognize illegal funds from hostile nations.
According to sources in North Korea, the person who embezzled the money is a high-ranking official from the North Korean military’s Security Bureau. He fled after embezzling $30 million for weapon modernization from Beijing, China, around the 11th of last month.
The official was tasked with importing CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine tools from China for weapon modernization, and due to his management of a large amount of discretionary funds, he has been working as a core executive of the Kim Jong Un regime, Money Today reported.
Whether the official who embezzled the money fled with cash or transferred it to an account has not been confirmed. A partner may also have helped him escape.
A similar incident occurred in 2016. At that time, a major from the North Korean People’s Armed Forces defected with $40 million, which he was supposed to present to Kim. The People’s Armed Forces director is equivalent to a lieutenant general in the South Korean military.
The defector, who was in charge of sending foreign currency earned from North Korean restaurants and construction sites in Southeast Asia and southern China to Kim’s slush fund vault, Room 39 of the Workers’ Party, fled with his two family members.
The North Korean military’s Security Bureau is one of the three major intelligence and surveillance agencies in North Korea, along with the National Defense Ministry and the Social Security Ministry. It is responsible for military security and internal surveillance. It protects North Korea’s military information and prevents the leakage of military secrets. It also handles criminal investigations and military trials within the North Korean military, monitors the movements of military personnel to control risks such as military rebellions or coups, and investigates soldiers who engage in suspicious activities.
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