[Yonhap News Photo]
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appeared to be pursuing a luxurious lifestyle and hedonism, although his governing fund has been drying up in the face of tough international sanctions, according to an analytical report from South Korea's spy agency.
Pyongyang's foreign currency earnings have decreased by 200 million US dollars from a year earlier since stronger UN sanctions were enforced in March this year, the South's National Intelligence Service (NIS) said in a report Wednesday at a parliamentary audit.
A summary of the report has been released by ruling and opposition party lawmakers who participated in the meeting at the NIS headquarters in southern Seoul. NIS chief Lee Byung-ho was quoted as saying Kim's governing fund has been almost depleted due to an economic pinch and sanctions. No comparable figures were given.
Yet the young leader has been indulged in binge drinking and overeating, injuring his health by intemperance while bypassing sanctions to import luxury sedans, helicopters, horses and even pet dogs for his pleasure, Lee said.
To fill Kim's private coffer, the NIS head said that North Korea had doubled the number of Chinese fishing boats operating in its waters to about 2,200 this year for $58 million, compared to $40 million last year.
It's hard to verify information related to the leader of the world's most reclusive state, but defectors claimed Kim may have overindulged on steak, champagne and Swiss cheese like his late father Kim Jong-il whose decadent lifestyle had been well known among citizens in Pyongyang.
Kim Jong-il's sudden death in December 2011 was attributed to high blood pressure and diabetes stemming from his appreciation of expensive French brandy and fine cuisine.
The regime has recently procured detectors of explosives and poisonous materials to bolster security measures for Kim, the NIS said, adding 64 people have been executed so far this year.
There have been sporadic reports of purges and executions involving senior party, government and military officials in North Korea. The most notorious case was reported in December 2013, when Kim executed his influential uncle Jang Song-taek on charges including treason and corruption.
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has often accused Kim of resorting to the reign of terror to consolidate his power.
More North Korean elites have deserted their country in search of freedom, which Seoul says points to signs of cracks in the North's regime. Seoul has been closely watching North Korea's internal situation since Thae Yong-ho, a senior diplomat based in London, defected in August.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
