Room 39 (officially Central Committee Bureau 39 of the Workers' Party of Korea,[1] also referred to as Bureau 39, Division 39, or Office 39[2]) is a secretive North Korean party organization that seeks ways to maintain the foreign currency slush fund for the country's leaders.[3]
The organization is estimated to bring in between $500 million and $1 billion per year or more[4] and is involved in illegal activities, such as counterfeiting $100 bills, producing controlled substances (including the synthesis of methamphetamine and the conversion of morphine into more potent opiates like heroin), and international insurance fraud.[3][5]
Room 39 is the largest of three influential so-called Third Floor offices along with Office 35 tasked with intelligence and Office 38 which handles legal financial activities.[6] Room 39 is believed to be located inside a ruling Workers' Party building in Pyongyang,[7] not far from one of the North Korean leader's residences.[2] All three Offices were initially housed on the third floor of the building where Kim Jong Il's office used to be, hence the moniker "Third Floor".[6]
^Rosett, Claudia (15 April 2010). "Kim Jong Il's 'Cashbox'". Forbes. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^ abLandler, Mark (30 August 2010). "New U.S. Sanctions Aim at North Korean Elite". The New York Times.
^ abDavid Rose (5 August 2009). "North Korea's Dollar Store". Vanity Fair.
^Rose, David (September 2009). "North Korea's Dollar Store". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
^"Global Insurance Fraud By North Korea Outlined". Washington Post. 18 June 2009.
^ abFischer 2016, p. 178.
^Kelly Olsen (11 June 2009). "New sanctions could hit North Korea's fundraising". The Guardian.
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