YONHAP/RODONG SINMUN
TYRANT Kim Jong-un continues to splash his cash on superyachts, party islands and his favourite Swiss cheese while his people struggle to survive on the bare minimum.
And amid increasingly harsh sanctions on North Korea, speculation is mounting over how the pot-bellied tyrant funds his seemingly endless piggy bank.
Kim appears to live a life of luxury, enjoying a £5million superyacht, a fleet of bulletproof Mercedes limousines and even building a ski resort for his cronies.
The nuke-loving dictator plots world domination from his sprawling resort off the east coast of the hermit nation and orders crates of top quality champagne for his pals.
North Korea has been accused of funding Kim’s extravagant lifestyle through illegal operations including hacking banks, selling weapons, dealing drugs and trafficking endangered species, news.com.au reported.
Experts told CNN that the money has also helped pay for the country's six nuclear tests and increasingly aggressive missile program.
Spies and defectors have also claimed a shadowy government department code-named ‘Room 39’ sells fake cash and Viagra to keep Kim and his inner circle happy.
“This money helps keep Kim Jong-un in power at a time he is engaged in nuclear brinksmanship," said David L. Asher, who has tracked North Korea’s illegal activities.
KCNA
PRINCESS
He told the Express: “This is the gift that keeps on giving. It has become one of the North's largest illicit revenue generators."
A 2008 Congressional Research Service report said Pyongyang could generate anywhere from $500 million to $1billion (£770million) in profits annually from illegal activities.
The country purchased $645million (£500million) worth of luxury goods in 2012, CNN stated according to a 2014 report from the UN.
Kim is well-known for his love of imported foreign cheese as millions of his countrymen struggle to put food on the table.
Most of his 25million subjects earn less than £3 a day.
AFP - GETTY
EPA
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