Kim Jong-un has nearly spent the entire ‘slush fund’ he inherited from his father on nuclear weapon tests, it has been claimed.
The dictator no longer has enough to run the country and the secretive nation’s participation in the Winter Olympic Games is part of a bid to boost its economy, sources claim.
Kim has staged a series of costly nuke trials since taking over as leader after the death of his father Kim Jong-il in 2011.
Kim Jong-un (pictured) has nearly spent the entire ‘slush fund’ he inherited from his father on nuclear weapon tests, it has been claimed
Kim has staged a series of costly nuke trials since taking over as leader after the death of his father Kim Jong-il (pctured) in 2011
But Chinese sources with links to Pyongyang’s ruling elite say the funds the 34-year-old inherited are nearly exhausted, reports Radio Free Asia.
One of the two sources said: ‘Due to Kim Jong Un’s extravagant spending, the slush fund from his father, Kim Jong Il, is running out.
He added: ‘We can speculate that he spent a lot of money from the number of missile [and nuclear weapons] tests he carried out.
‘Most of the funding for nuclear weapon and missile development is coming from Kim Jong Un’s slush fund.’
The source said Kim Jong-un has also lavished cash on showpiece works including the Ryomyong Street development in Pyongyang and the Masikryong Ski Resort.
Chinese sources with links to Pyongyang’s ruling elite say the funds the 34-year-old inherited are nearly exhausted after a wave of nuclear and missile (pictured) tests
The dictator no longer has enough to run the country and the secretive nation’s participation in the Winter Olympic Games is part of a bid to boost its economy, sources claim
International sanctions clamping down on North Koreans working abroad may also have had an impact, denting the estimated $500 million funneled into Kim’s regime from 100,000 nationals employed overseas, the source said.
The second Chinese source claimed that Pyongyang aims to ease its financial woes by participating in its neighbour South Korea’s Winter Olympic Games starting on February 9.
The hope is that it will prompt charity from Seoul – echoing policies from the 1990s and 2000s in which South Korea offered subsidies to the North in exchange for peaceful relations.
He said: ‘There will be a warming of relations during the Pyongchang Olympics, but if South Korea’s response fails to satisfy Pyongyang, it will ultimately strain North-South ties.’