The General Association of Korean Residents
in Japan, a pro-North Korean group commonly known as Chongryon, still remains a
strong channel of foreign currency for the Kim family in the North. It is not
only founder Kim Il Sung, who established the group in the late 1950s in Tokyo,
but also his son Kim Jong Il that benefited greatly in times of sudden need
from the association’s “patriotism campaigns.” For example, the large ferries
Mangyongbong-92 and Samjiyon came into existence thanks to donations from members
of Chongryon.
That’s not all. The North also built An
Sang Thaek Road and Kim Man Yu Hospital in Pyongyang by attracting businessmen
from Chongryon. The 100 high-end buses mobilized for the welcoming ceremony of
the ‘Kwangmyong 4’ rocket launch on the 10th as well as the official buses
carting around tourists were also provided by the association. Heavy machinery
and equipment for construction, some hundreds of types of electronic and
military communications equipment (from Japan’s FURUNO electronics company)
being used by the North were also brought in by Chongryon from Japan and are
still employed by the North’s naval vessels.
Having used currency and supplies from
Chongryon so readily for years, the North devised clever ways to continue
receiving funds and goods from the group, despite sanctions that followed the
KAL bombing in 1987. In other words, Japan may have levied independent
sanctions against Pyongyang for many years, but the remittances have not
stopped. The only difference is what used to be public is now carried out
through secretive channels.
So what kind of methods has it been using?
The North has until now sent gold, other precious metals, and narcotics through
open and covert routes to Japan and brought back in foreign currency in
exchange.
For precious metals, Sangnong Mine in
Hochon County, South Hamgyong Province would be one example. Each year, this
mine is used to supply cash to Chongryon in the name of ‘education funds.” The
gold from this mine is said to be of premium quality, making it popular both in
Japan and the global market. The gold is first sent to Chongryon, where a
portion of it is used to support Chongryon schools, and the rest is rerouted
back to the North as Kim Jong Un’s slush funds.
Pyongyang also secures funds by circulating
a massive supply of narcotics in Japan through Chongryon. In the past, these
operations were carried out by vessels like Mangyongbong, Samjiyon, and Chong
Chon Gang, which are operated by the Central Party’s Department 6 (for strategic
operations), but after the enforcement of sanctions, the drugs have been
transported on private commercial boats and fish processing and transport ships
(roughly 1,000 tons).
A good example of this would be an
operation carried out in the early 2000s. A male agent in his 30s, upon
receiving orders to transport drugs to Japan, handed over a supply to Chongryon
and returned after staying in the country for three days. At the time, he
welded the narcotics in a steel container underneath the ship’s engine and
received entry into the Port of Tokyo, evading inspections from the coast
guard. That night, he met with a Chongryon official, who secretly approached
the vessel on a boat, and handed over the supply. The agent received a 3000 USD
reward for this job– a story he told this reporter firsthand.
Because the Japanese government keeps a
close eye on banks Chongryon conducts business with, the North works under the
principle of cash only. This is carried out through multiple methods. First, it
often hides the cash within the belongings of various visiting groups such as :student youth groups,” “congratulatory delegations,” and “performance
troupes.”
Also, the port of Rajin within the free
economic zone is another point of entry. Because Japan has severed all direct
trade ties with the North, they use Chinese traders and companies to send in
secondhand Japanese goods (bicycles, electronics, clothing) and often times the
shipments contain bundles of cash. On the surface, it may look any normal
business deal between a Chinese and Japanese company, but in reality, it would
be heavyweights from the Workers’ Party Secretariat and Office 30 that are
behind the scenes, collecting these wads of bills.
Back in 2009, Kim Jong Il handed down
orders to the provincial trade office (under Office 38) in Rajin telling
officials “to assign all trade companies in Rajin to Oh Chil Song (nephew of
former Chongryon vice chair)’, showing just much weight Chongryon must have
carried in terms of Kim Jong Il’s dollar supply.
Chongryon continues to use Rason as an
entry point for its foreign currency and look for creative ways to line Kim
Jong Un’s dollar coffers. Tokyo’s stringent response to North Korea’s recent nuclear test and rocket launch–banning North Korean nationals from entering Japan, and Chongryon officials
from reentering the country after visiting the North, as well as strengthened regulations on remittances to the North–is bound to make this harder, but only time will tell to what extent.
