North Korea might claim to be self reliant as is clearly visible by their following of the policy of juche or self reliance but the country is far from being self reliant.Like any other country North Korea too needs foreign exchange to survive and more importantly to finance Kim jong un’s lavish lifestyle
The North Korean government went even so far to change the calendar.Instead of 2020 they are having the year Juche 109.The birth year of Kim Il Sung in 1912 became the base from which the years are calculated-TALK ABOUT PROPOGANDA.The people think its 109 years of self reliance but its actually 109 years of misery fr the people(Actually he officially became the leader after the Korean War but for effect lets say 109 years.)
While the majority of the population of North Korea starves and is severely suffering from malnutrition and while a large number of people suffer from Pellagra which is a disease caused by eating only corn as a staple diet Kim Jong Un has other problems.In 2014 it was reported by South Korean media that the supreme leader was suffering from gout because of an addiction to Swiss cheese and lack of exercise.Being the supreme leader definitely has its perks as is visible with Kim Jong Un probably being the only obese person in the whole country of North Korea but in order to finance his excesses he too needs foreign currencies and that’s where OFFICE 39 comes into action.
Office 39 is one of the most secretive organisations in North Korea and for good reason.Their primary objective is to earn foreign currency and not for the country but in the name of Kim Jong Un.It is widely known that they deal in amphetmine as well as heroin and a variety of other narcotics which is not allowed in most civilised society.But another distinctive feature of this organisation is counterfeiting.The North Koreans managed to forge such nicely fabricated 100 dollar that the us government had to improve security features of the notes in circulation.Even now many times cases arise of forged US dollar notes which are often traced back to North Korea.
Office 39 plays such an important part of the North Korean economy that it is accepted that they contribute up to 30-40 percent of the country’s economy however in recent years because of the UN as well the US placing several sanctions on the country their operations have greatly suffered.As written in the book Long Road Home by Kim Yong who is a North Korean defector,He explains that he indeed used to work for a trading company in Pyongyang and often used to trade in fish and mushrooms with Japanese smugglers and come back with heaps of Japanese Yen and that too in hard cash.Although office 39 plays a vital role other organisations like the one mentioned above also exist.
Although North Korea does not have much good relationships with any country.But they get some amount of help from China which is the reason behind its survival.The country uses mostly highly illegal activities to earn foreign currency but the thing is that the benefits of this money goes to only the elite.By elite it means people of the highest songbun which is like the North Korean caste system.The needs of the poor are ignored and while they suffer Kim Jong Un feasts.
Peace In North Korea 