Oh dear.
Kim Jong Un’s obsession with firing massive rockets is reportedly draining his “slush fund”, reports The Telegraph.
This is according to two Chinese sources with connections in the North Korean government, who revealed that although the funds are supposed to be used to run the country, Kim’s missile and nuclear tests, as well as extravagant vanity projects, has nearly exhausted that supply.
So what now? Well, while many thought that the country’s last-minute decision to take part in the South Korean Winter Olympics was part of a larger plan to disrupt the event, it appears that it’s actually part of a larger 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.
No one knows quite how much is in Kim’s inheritance. However, we do know that 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”.
The spending on that has been estimated by South Korean government analysts as between $1 billion and $3 billion.
No wonder daddy’s money is running out.
Then there are the “vanity projects”. These include “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”.
Tsk tsk, Kim. Is it time to cash in your Bitcoin?
[source:telegraph]
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