Defector reveals North Korean money hunting

seoul - A North Korean who recently defected to South Korea has opened a book about how the regime in Pyongyang is trying to get money. The man was part of 'Bureau 39', which was set up to get foreign money from the leader Kim Jong-un.

The agency coordinates a network of companies around the world that deal with legal and illegal trade. That results in North Korea generating 416 million to 1.7 billion euros per year.

The defector was interviewed by the Australian broadcaster ABC with permission from the South Korean security services. His task at the office would have been the sale of gold from North Korean mines and rivers.

Bureau 39, according to the United States and the United Nations, is an organization that earns money on a large scale with illegal practices such as counterfeiting, drug and arms trade. Fake 100-dollar bills that manufactured North Korea were known as the best-made counterfeit money in the world. They were an important source of income for the country, until the US took measures against the sale of the notes.