North Korean House of Cards

Chart 12: Jang’s Tapping into Military Funds
$
$
Supreme Leader
(Kim Jong-un)
NDC
Department 81
(Tapped into by
Jang Song-taek)
$
$
NDC (Dept. 54)
Tapping military funds
$
Other
Cabinet
Office 39
KWP Administrative
Department
(Jang Song-taek)
KPA
$
Realigned under AD
Realigned under AD
Realigned under AD
Trading companies, mines
and other lucrative offices
taken over by the KWP
Administrative Department
After Jang Song-tak’s execution, an additional theory emerged about his
interference in the Royal Economy. South Korean sources suggested that his greatest
transgression was the embezzlement of Kim family funds in banks in Asia and
Europe. 484 The amount of these funds is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions,
if not billions, of dollars. Many of the individuals responsible for managing them
had ties to Jang Song-taek. 485 While there is no tangible proof that he was skimming
from foreign accounts, there is circumstantial evidence that he might have had
access to these accounts. As noted earlier, his August 2012 visit to China may have
been a secret mission to secure Kim family funds from a number of Chinese banks.
There are numerous theories about how Jang Song-taek planned to use
the funds he was drawing from the Royal Economy. Some have suggested he was
building a “war chest” in order to exercise even greater power within the regime
by forcing a collapse of the Royal Economy, thus making the Supreme Leader a
dependent puppet. Others believe he was working with China to position North
Korea for meaningful economic reforms and the funds would be critical to this
484 “N. Korean Purge All About The Money,” The Chosun Ilbo, December 12, 2013.
485 This most likely accounts for the rumors that emerged in early 2014 of Ri Yong-su’s execution
before he emerged with his appointment as Foreign Minister.
Committee for Human Rights in North Korea
216