Kim has stash of up to $5 billion hidden abroad, says analyst
By YOSHIHIRO MAKINO
SEOUL--North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has a $3 billion to $5 billion (330 billion yen-540 billion yen) “revolutionary fund” stashed in bank accounts under false names in Switzerland and other countries, according to a South Korean analyst.
The fund has been used by successive North Korean leaders and members of the Kim dynasty, North Korea’s “royal family,” to govern the country, said Cho Bong-hyun of the Industrial Bank of Korea in Seoul.
Kim has used the fund to reward high-achieving senior officials with expensive watches and electronic goods, while the royal family has spent cash on luxury items.
Some sources said the fund has even been used to finance Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.
Other parts of the revolutionary fund are kept at financial institutions in Hong Kong and countries in the Middle East, Cho added.