North Korean House of Cards

Kwang-chol, a North Korean trade official who was a Vice Director of the State
Security Department (SSD), which formally reported up to the KWP Administrative
Department. 444 Om, in his other position as President of the Sinhung Trading
Company, allegedly received letters of consignment from Kim Jong-il’s office via
Rungra 888, a trading company tied to General Bureau 73. These letters allowed Om
to assign tasks to other parts of the Royal Economy, such as Office 39 and the
military, through their own trading companies. 445 Kim Jong-il may have allowed this
kind of network to develop because much of the legal and illicit deals were deeply
tied to Dalian Global, a trading company located in China that was a critical hub
for regional goods and services to be funneled into North Korea. 446 Because of its
long-standing on-the-ground presence in China, the SSD would have been uniquely
suited to run these sensitive operations.
444 “Detour Route to China, South Korea Used for Illegal Exports to DPRK, Senior DPRK
Official Directs Trade,” Sankei Shimbun, February 3, 2010.
445 Ibid. These letters of consignment were mainly for luxury goods. In one case, Om ordered
cosmetics and foodstuffs through a trading company called Suruusu Ltd, based in Osaka, under the
pretense of exporting the goods to Dalian. In fact, the goods were diverted to North Korea. In another
case, Om tasked the Office 39 apparatus to work through Dalian Global to secure illegally exported Mercedes-Benz
luxury cars and pianos from Japan to North Korea. In a non-luxury item case, Tadao Morita
Co., Ltd., a company dealing in used cars located in Maizuru City (Kyoto Prefecture) was caught trying
to export large tanker trucks that could be converted for military use to North Korea by pretending to
export them to South Korea.
446 In the late 2000s, a lucrative channel for luxury goods and dual-use items was Japan, where
several companies, because of financial problems, were willing to overlook export controls. Of note were
the following: Meisho Yoko, which did business with HELM Pyongyang (controlled by Rungra 888);
Toko Boeki, which did business with New East International Trading Ltd. (controlled by the SEC); Tadao
Morita Company, which did business with Paekho 7 Trading (run by the KPA); Meishin, which did
business with Korea Daesong No. 3 Trading Corporation (controlled by Office 39); and Keinan Trading,
which did business with Sinhung Trading (controlled by the SSD).
Ken E. Gause
203