A revealing but not terribly surprising interview with a North Korean defector:

(The interviewee states that there are) two economies in North Korea: one administered by the North Korean Cabinet and nominally oriented toward serving the needs of the people; and a “Royal Court economy,” financed by illicit enterprises worldwide and providing the stream of hard currency that keeps Kim Jong Il, and his cronies, ensconsed in power and luxury.

Nothing unusual there – it’s standard for every dictatorship.  The illicit enterprises, however, are more disturbing:

the regime’s largest source of hard currency comes from the clandestine manufacture and sale of weapons of mass destruction. After that comes the regime’s multibillion-dollar insurance fraud business, in which the authorities stage arson and bogus accidents to collect multimillion-dollar payouts from international banks and insurers.

No real surprises here either. Given Kim Jong Il’s declining health, will the US be able to ensure its regional position and capitalize on the likely instability after his death? Could North Korea be steered towards a South Korean style success story? Or will we squander the opportunity in an effort to placate other regional powers, even at the expense of millions of desperate souls?

North Korean Defector Describes Inner Workings of Isolated Regime – Political News – FOXNews.com.

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