Secret NK cadre commits crimes for new leadership

By Lee Tae-hoon

North Korea experts said Sunday that a group of children of North Korea’s high ranking officials is emerging as a new political entity within the reclusive regime through their involvement in illicit activities such as counterfeiting and drug trafficking.

They claimed that the young privileged North Koreans formed a secret cadre, called “Ponghwajo,” in the early 2000s, with the aim of raising money for their leader Kim Jong-il and the communist regime’s future leadership.

Many of the new “corrupt” elite group are reportedly in their late 30s or early 40s and have earned a degree from either the prestigious Kim Il-sung University or Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies.

Kim Jong-il’s second son Jong-chol has developed strong ties with Ponghwajo, following Kim’s nomination of his younger brother Jong-un as his successor last year, an informed source on North Korea told Yonhap News Agency.

“Some Ponghwajo members not only accompanied Jong-chol to an Eric Clapton concert in Singapore on Feb. 14, but also paid for his accommodation, shopping, and other costs there,” the anonymous source was quoted as saying.

“They also escorted Jong-chol to Macao and Malaysia, spending some $100,000 to $300,000 on gambling and to purchase luxury goods.”

North Korea observers commented that North Korean diplomats have responded sternly to the excessive gambling and lavish shopping of Ponghwajo members, but stopped short of preventing the new power elite from pursuing their hedonist lifestyles.

They say Ponghwajo is similar to China’s “princelings,” the offspring of the Chinese Communist Party and military leaders who have amassed fortunes through private businesses or their family ties within the ruling Communist Party.

“Once you have strong support from the Kim Jong-il family, you can do practically anything,” Cheong Seong-chang, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute, said.

Last year, the Washington Times reported that Oh Se-won, the alleged leader of Ponghwajo, was linked to counterfeiting bills found in Las Vegas in 2004.

The paper claimed that Gen. Oh Keuk-ryol, Oh Se-won’s father, was in charge of producing the supernotes.

Ponghwajo members are also suspected for being involved in the drug-trafficking case of the North Korean ship PungSu, which was seized by Australian authorities in April 2003 for carrying 330 pounds of heroin.

Kim Chol, son of Kim Won-hong, head of the military secret police known as the Korean People’s Army Security Command, is reportedly deeply involved in the sales of narcotics.

Kim Jong-il’s youngest son and heir, Jong-un, is also known to have a close relationship with the new elite group spanning more than several years.

North Korea watchers say many Ponghwajo members have been busted by health authorities for heroin addiction, but were pardoned due to their family connections.

They note that North Koreans have been very aggressive in raising money and will pretty much do anything considered illegitimate or illegal for profit.

Some experts, however, downplayed the possibility of Ponghwajo’s involvement in drug and gambling incidents, saying they are wealthy enough to “bribe Kim Jong-il without having to tap into risky businesses.”

“It is true that gambling and drugs are popular among the children of top North Korean officials, but the chance is low for them to make money by counterfeiting, opening casinos or selling drugs,” Cheong said.

On Feb. 7, Russian daily Izvestia raised suspicions that North Korea’s Embassy in Moscow leased out one of its facilities to be used as an illegal casino.

北 실세 2세, 상납금 마련을 위해 마약 팔아

북한 고위 권력층 2세들의 모임인 “봉화조”가 위조화폐 유통과 마약 밀매 등을 통해 외화벌이를 하고 있으며, 벌어들인 외화 상당 부분을 김정은과 김정철에게 상납하고 있다고 북한 전문가들이 17일 밝혔다.

2000년대 초반 생겨난 것으로 알려진 봉화조 멤버는 대부분 30대 후반에서 40대 초반으로 김일성종합대학, 평양외국어대학 등 북한 최고의 명문대학을 나온 것으로 알려져 있다.

북한 김정일 국방위원장의 차남인 김정철이 지난 2월 싱가포르를 여행했을 때 북한판 `태자당'인 `봉화조'의 일부 멤버가 동행했던 것으로 전해지고 있다.

북한 내부동향에 정통한 대북 소식통은 "김정철은 동생인 김정은이 후계자로 내정된 이후 봉화조 멤버들과 더욱 가까이 지내고 있는 것으로 안다"며 "에릭 클랩튼의 공연을 보려고 싱가포르에 갔을 때도 봉화조의 일부 멤버가 동행해 현지 체류와 쇼핑 비용을 전부 부담했다"고 밝혔다고 연합뉴스에 말했다.

이 소식통은 김정철과 봉화조 일부 멤버가 싱가포르뿐만 아니라 마카오와 말레이시아도 여행하며 미화 10만∼30만 달러의 판돈으로 도박을 즐기고 백화점에서 고가의 상품을 구입하기도 했다 전했다.

하지만 이에 대해 정성장 세종연구소 수석연구원은 봉화조와 같은 권력층 2세의 모임은 북한에 존재할 가능성이 충분이 있으나 이러한 특권 집단이 김정운과 김정철에 상납할 자금을 마련하기 위해 범죄를 저질러 왔다는 주장은 다소 설득력이 떨어진다 지적했다.

그는 고위층 엘리트의 자녀의 경우 부모들이 부정한 방법으로 부를 이미 충분히 축적해 굳이 마약판매와 같은 범죄에 가담할 개연성이 떨어진다 지적하며 도박과 마약은 단조로운 그들의 삶을 달래기 놀이 수준으로 할 뿐 돈벌이 수단으로 하는 것 같지는 않다고 주장했다.