As readers of North Korean Economy Watch are well ware, North Korean embassies do not receive all of their operational funding from Pyongyang. In most cases, the embassy staff do not only generate their own income, they must also remit money back to Pyongyang.
This system might seem strange to westerners, but it has one major benefit to Pyongyang: the embassies actually earn a profit! The down side, however, is that more than one North Korean diplomat has been caught neck deep in some kind of shady business deal.
It might be possible, though, that business for the embassies is not too brisk these days…
This week, the Daily NK reports that Kim Jong il’s half-brother, who is the exiled ambassador to Poland, seems to be making overhead cutbacks at his embassy:
The North Korea embassy in Poland has not been able to hold Kim Jong Il’s birthday party in the embassy since 2006 due to financial problems. Despite this, they have been holding events, ceremonies and parties in pro-North Korean organizations or North Korean branch companies with pro-North Korean figures in Poland.” (Daily NK)
This is the second DPRK emabssy story in the media recently. Just a few days ago, it was reported the the North Korean ambassy in Australia was also closing.
What other DPRK embassy cutbacks are we unuware of?
The full article can be found here:
Kim Pyong Il Says Kim Jong Il System Will Last For a While
Daily NK
Yang Jung A
2/22/2008