The director of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s secret moneymaking “Room 39” bureau has been fired, a news report said yesterday. Analysts said the move may be a way to get around international sanctions.
Kim Dong-un, head of the infamous Room 39 department, which is said to control Kim’s family enterprises, was replaced by his deputy, Jon Il-chun, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified source familiar with North Korean affairs.
The National Intelligence Service, Seoul’s top spy agency, said it could not confirm the report. North Korean state media did not mention the personnel change.
Room 39 is described as the linchpin of the North’s so-called “court economy” centered on the dynastic Kim family. The department is believed to finance his family and top party officials with business ventures — some legitimate and some not — that include counterfeiting and drug-smuggling.
Room 39 oversees some 120 trading companies and mines, accounting for some 25 percent of North Korea’s total trade and employing up to 50,000 North Koreans, said Lim Soo-ho, a research fellow at the Samsung Economic Research Institute think tank.
He said the reported move to fire the Room 39 chief may be part of attempts to get around stringent international sanctions imposed on North Korea.
It was unclear which Room 39 companies or officials might be under UN sanctions, but North Korean firms frequently change names to evade scrutiny. And Kim, the Room 39 chief who was reportedly fired, had been blacklisted by the EU in December, making his movements in Europe difficult and prompting the change in personnel, Yonhap said.
UN Security Council sanctions were tightened against North Korea after a nuclear test last May. The order bans North Korea from exporting arms; calls for freezing assets, and forbids travel abroad for certain companies and individuals involved in the country’s nuclear and weapons programs.
The report came as the US renewed its call for the North to return to talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programs.
Assistant US Secretary of State Kurt Campbell made the comments yesterday during a meeting with South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-taek in Seoul, Hyun’s office said.
The North wants a peace treaty with the US formally ending the 1950 to 1953 Korean War as well as the lifting of sanctions before returning to the disarmament negotiations it abandoned last year.
Campbell said no discussion about easing sanctions, a peace treaty or diplomatic relations can take place before the disarmament talks are back on track, Yonhap said.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
EUROPEAN FUTURE? Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama says only he could secure EU membership, but challenges remain in dealing with corruption and a brain drain Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama seeks to win an unprecedented fourth term, pledging to finally take the country into the EU and turn it into a hot tourist destination with some help from the Trump family. The artist-turned-politician has been pitching Albania as a trendy coastal destination, which has helped to drive up tourism arrivals to a record 11 million last year. US President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, also joined in the rush, pledging to invest US$1.4 billion to turn a largely deserted island into a luxurious getaway. Rama is expected to win another term after yesterday’s vote. The vote would
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
RSS