North Korean House of Cards

Command and control over the Royal Economy was the subject of speculation
in the months leading up to Kim Jong-il’s death. In February 2011, rumors
surfaced that Office 38 had been reconstituted as an independent body in May 2010
after having allegedly been incorporated into Office 39 in 2009. 447 The veracity of
these rumors regarding Office 38’s supposed closure and reinstatement was open
to question. What was particularly intriguing was the accompanying rumor that the
office was now headed by Kim Tong-un, the former head of Office 39. The day before
Kim Jong-il’s death, on December 17, 2011, North Korean state television showed
Jon Il-chun, Director of Office 39, standing closer to Kim than the heir apparent, Kim
Jong-un, on an inspection tour of a supermarket in Pyongyang. 448 Whether this was
a deliberate signal of the Kim family’s control over the “revolutionary funds” is not
clear. However, Jon Il-chun had not been seen in public for five months, making his
reappearance particularly notable.
Image 25: Kim Jong-il conducts an inspection of Kwangbok Region Supermarket. (Source: KCBS)
3. The Royal Economy under Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-il’s last will and testament makes clear that his heir, Kim Jong-un,
is the sole proprietor of the funds controlled by the Kim family and, by extension,
447 “Kim Tong-un Named Kim Jong-il’s Fund Manager,” Yonhap News Agency, February 20, 2011.
The South Korean government speculated that Kim Jong-il had separated Office 38 and 39 to once again
open up two revenue streams into the Kim family coffers to cover the increasing cost of the succession.
448 “Kim Jong-il Visits Kwangbok Region Supermarket,” KCBS, December 15, 2014. The night
after this report, North Korean television carried photographs of the event.
Ken E. Gause
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