WEBVTT - To Make a Killing 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:13.520 In a twelve year old Asian boy with a bowl haircut, 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.239 his body hugged by a jumpsuit, walked into a boarding 0:00:17.239 --> 0:00:21.520 school and burned Switzerland. He was, by all appearances, just 0:00:21.680 --> 0:00:26.440 another spoiled, rich kid. He loved action movies and airplanes. 0:00:26.920 --> 0:00:32.320 He was obsessed with basketball, especially the Chicago Bulls. Each 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:35.600 new academic year, he was the envy of the class, 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:39.600 strutting around the schoolyard and a pair of freshly unboxed 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:44.000 air Jordan's. According to classmates, the boy answered to the 0:00:44.080 --> 0:00:48.720 name Pagun. But what they didn't know is that Swiss 0:00:48.760 --> 0:00:52.640 authorities had a different name on file. According to the 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:59.080 kids Brazilian passport, his real name was Joseph Plague. But 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:04.600 here's the secret. Neither name was real. Joseph Poague and Pagun, 0:01:05.160 --> 0:01:10.039 we're just aliases. The twelve year old's real name was 0:01:10.160 --> 0:01:14.360 Kim Chang Un, and for the next four years, the 0:01:14.480 --> 0:01:17.400 Michael Jordan's loving son of a tyrant would use these 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:22.240 phony personas to conceal his identity and gallivant around Europe undetected, 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:27.679 just like his older brother. But what's most fascinating about 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:31.760 Kim Dongan's fake Brazilian passport isn't the alias or the 0:01:31.800 --> 0:01:36.680 country of origin. What's most intriguing is that the document 0:01:36.760 --> 0:01:43.080 lists his father as a man called Ricardo Poague, who 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:47.920 was he Well, Ricardo Plague was a real person, at 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:51.640 least the fake name of a real person, but we 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:54.520 know that he was a top level North Korean official, 0:01:54.920 --> 0:01:59.240 one who traveled to Europe regularly, often staying in luxury hotels. 0:02:00.280 --> 0:02:04.560 According to Anna Fifield's book, Ricardo was quote charged with 0:02:04.720 --> 0:02:09.119 buying buildings for the North Korean ruling class. And if 0:02:09.160 --> 0:02:12.960 that's any indication, we have a good idea about the 0:02:12.960 --> 0:02:17.239 man's real identity. We don't know for sure her Ricardo 0:02:17.360 --> 0:02:21.080 Plague was um, but there has been suggested that Jang 0:02:21.080 --> 0:02:26.120 Song Tech was that person. Chang's Hung Tech, the uncle 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:31.239 of both Kim jongan and Kim Chong nam, widely considered 0:02:31.560 --> 0:02:34.959 one of the most influential people in the regime. Juan 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:37.959 Song Tech's role in the regime was to go out 0:02:37.960 --> 0:02:42.639 into the world. He was very mercurial, gregarious character h 0:02:42.800 --> 0:02:44.840 and he was in charge of a lot of economic 0:02:44.880 --> 0:02:48.720 liaison with the outside world, mostly with China, but he 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:52.320 also traveled quite a lot in Europe. In the nineties, 0:02:52.720 --> 0:02:55.679 Chang Song tech was one of the most powerful men 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:59.760 in North Korea. Decades earlier, he had married Kim Jong 0:02:59.800 --> 0:03:03.360 il sister and became a close confidante to the dear leader. 0:03:03.880 --> 0:03:07.799 He was always on the move, traveling the world undercover, 0:03:08.280 --> 0:03:12.120 securing deals to help fund the regime. He was so 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:16.359 powerful that, as you may remember, some pundits called him 0:03:16.400 --> 0:03:21.160 quote the Kim jong Il who goes abroad. It's hard 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:24.320 to overstate how close Kim Jong Il and Chang Song 0:03:24.400 --> 0:03:27.560 pech were. He acted as a father figure to the 0:03:27.600 --> 0:03:32.680 Supreme Leader's children, change even personally held auditions for the 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:36.960 women in Kim Jong Il's harem. And during the two 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:41.480 thousand's some North Korea watchers speculated that Chang could be 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:46.160 chosen to lead the nation. Of course, that honor would 0:03:46.160 --> 0:03:50.600 go to Tongues or should we say Ricardo Poague's fake 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:56.960 Brazilian son. But that decision didn't nooter Uncle Chan's power, 0:03:57.840 --> 0:04:00.440 because when Kim Jong n took over in twenty eleven, 0:04:01.040 --> 0:04:04.000 it was Chang who helped shepherd his nephew through North 0:04:04.080 --> 0:04:08.400 Korea's bureaucracy. It was Chang who helped him build relationships 0:04:08.440 --> 0:04:12.120 with the Polite Bureau. It was Chang who built apartments 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.680 and resorts to glorify the new ruler, and it was 0:04:15.800 --> 0:04:22.839 Chang who served as Kim Jongan's closest advisor. Chang Song 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:28.039 tech essentially functioned as Kim Jongan's chief of staff. The 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:33.120 two were like father and son, like Ricardo and Joseph Plague. 0:04:34.279 --> 0:04:39.080 But Uncle Tong harbored a secret, one that linked him 0:04:39.120 --> 0:04:43.640 to King Chong Nam, and one that would reportedly soon 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:47.240 have him staring down the barrel of an anti aircraft gun. 0:04:50.240 --> 0:04:55.760 I'm eating lee and in this episode, dirty money, risky reform, 0:04:55.839 --> 0:04:59.720 and failed coups inside the money making schemes that may 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.800 have had several members of the Kim dynasty to gamble 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:08.000 with their lives. There are also plenty of suggestions that 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:12.240 he was still in cohots with the regime. North Korean 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:18.599 diplomat stationed abroad have really behaved like a criminal mob 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.800 and you could see Jong Song text saying, why am 0:05:21.800 --> 0:05:24.039 I going to turn over my life's work to my 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:42.440 snot nose twentysomething nephew, This is big brother. When the 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:46.839 Japanese journalist Yoji Komi first reported on Kim Jong Nam's 0:05:46.880 --> 0:05:51.880 criticisms of the regime. The DPRK responded with fury, sending 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:55.280 the prince into a brief hiding or, as Kim Jong 0:05:55.360 --> 0:05:59.480 Nam told Comey, I just have to be careful. But 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:04.640 things eventually cooled over. Kim Jong Il was running the country. 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:08.880 He still loved his son, so the risks of needling 0:06:08.920 --> 0:06:13.400 the regime were relatively low. But things were different when 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:18.159 Comey published his book. Kim Jong Il was dead and 0:06:18.279 --> 0:06:21.640 Kim Jong Un was now in charge, and nobody knew 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:26.360 how he'd react to his brother's inflammatory comments. It didn't 0:06:26.400 --> 0:06:29.159 help that Kim Jong nam had suggested that North Korea 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:33.080 should liberalize its economy and claim that the best hope 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:37.000 for reform was not his little brother but Uncle Tong. 0:06:38.279 --> 0:06:43.720 Michael Madden explains, probably Jong probably had different ideas as 0:06:43.760 --> 0:06:46.760 to what North Korea's economy should be doing. In a 0:06:46.800 --> 0:06:52.040 North Korean context, he was most likely a reformer. In fact, 0:06:52.640 --> 0:06:56.120 Uncle Chang had a proven track record of nudging the 0:06:56.200 --> 0:07:00.960 country in new directions. Evidence of are some evidence that 0:07:01.000 --> 0:07:04.920 there were certain relaxations of social policies in North Korea 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:10.560 under Joan Song text leadership of the Internal Security Apparatus, 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:15.800 A toleration of religious activities, both Christianity and Shamanism. And 0:07:15.840 --> 0:07:18.560 there was a certain degree of clemency and pardon given 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.559 to people who fled illegally into China to seek work 0:07:22.000 --> 0:07:25.640 or to seek economic relief, for to seek food. Uncle 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:30.320 Chang's influence was very real. A little more than a 0:07:30.360 --> 0:07:35.360 decade earlier, change may have nudged Kim Jong il toward reform. 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:39.560 The Supreme Leader had adopted a new constitution, one that 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:45.520 embraced quote prime costs, prices and profits. Profits. Now, that 0:07:45.600 --> 0:07:50.320 wasn't very communist. Neither was a new constitutional article calling 0:07:50.360 --> 0:07:55.000 for quote enterprises with corporations or individuals of foreign countries. 0:07:55.680 --> 0:08:01.600 The foreign country being Uncle Tong's friend China. Jong was 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:05.480 very much aligned with China, whereby Chinese investment money would 0:08:05.480 --> 0:08:09.840 come into North Korean economic sites. Years later, can even 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:13.640 pushed to create multiple economic zones along the border, miniature 0:08:13.760 --> 0:08:19.440 capitalist fifdoms that functioned as incubators for innovation. Kim Jongan 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:23.320 actually embraced these ideas. The country created more than a 0:08:23.360 --> 0:08:27.120 dozen of them. On that here's Jenny Town of the 0:08:27.160 --> 0:08:30.080 Simpsons Center. Kim Jongan has really tried to put himself 0:08:30.120 --> 0:08:33.400 out as trying to usher in an era of economic 0:08:33.840 --> 0:08:37.800 prosperity and not just survival. There was a real emphasis 0:08:37.880 --> 0:08:41.400 on these special economic zones. North Korea was willing to 0:08:41.520 --> 0:08:46.280 do a lot of interesting things um and created you know, 0:08:46.400 --> 0:08:50.719 the legal space for these zones to develop. Kim jong 0:08:50.800 --> 0:08:55.560 Un also allowed the country's private black markets to blossom. 0:08:55.600 --> 0:08:58.960 Since then, this black market economy has grown into a 0:08:59.080 --> 0:09:04.640 legitimate proct this with many towns hosting government approved marketplaces. 0:09:04.760 --> 0:09:10.600 In terms of the actual market activity in the economy itself, um, 0:09:10.640 --> 0:09:14.640 there's been rising economic activity and it's under the kimjong 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:19.040 on era. Today there are private grocers, private restaurants, private 0:09:19.040 --> 0:09:24.520 travel companies, and even private taxis all competing for customers. 0:09:24.559 --> 0:09:29.320 By at least of North Korea's population was running or 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:34.319 working for some sort of private enterprise. And experts agree 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:38.720 the standard of living has increased. There has been a 0:09:38.760 --> 0:09:44.080 real rise in accumulated wealth per person. Then there's been 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:49.320 some you know, medium size to larger size businesses that 0:09:49.400 --> 0:09:52.640 have flourished in the past few years. What you've also 0:09:52.679 --> 0:09:56.600 seen is a real loosening of control over like the 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:00.560 state owned enterprises. This of course is not the Chinese 0:10:00.600 --> 0:10:03.600 style reform. Uncle Chang and Kim jong Nam advocated for. 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.640 But it's something It's almost as if the two men 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:10.920 were given the freedom to whisper into Kim jong UN's ear. 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:16.479 Perhaps Yoji Komi's book full of Kim jong Nam's proddings 0:10:17.040 --> 0:10:21.199 and the aged wisdom of Uncle Chang actually made an 0:10:21.200 --> 0:10:27.320 impression on the young dictator. That's one interpretation. The other 0:10:28.320 --> 0:10:32.320 simply times are tough in North Korea, but by allowing 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:36.360 these markets to exist, Kim jong Un has marginally boosted 0:10:36.360 --> 0:10:41.000 the standard of living and boosted his own popularity. The 0:10:41.080 --> 0:10:47.199 decision was ultimately self serving. Besides, there's an economic benefit 0:10:47.280 --> 0:10:51.520 to letting private enterprises operate under the surface. The state 0:10:51.559 --> 0:10:55.480 can devote fewer funds to social institutions and spend more 0:10:55.640 --> 0:11:00.600 on its real priorities like nuclear weapons. And since the 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:03.720 rise of the private economy, the regime has been pouring 0:11:03.760 --> 0:11:08.079 more resources into money making schemes and lessen to its people. 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:12.120 And that's where the fates of Kim Jong Nam and 0:11:12.240 --> 0:11:17.439 Uncle Tang Song tech become tangled and messy. Because Kim 0:11:17.520 --> 0:11:21.000 jong Nam's death it might have nothing to do with 0:11:21.040 --> 0:11:24.480 the successorship, It might have nothing to do with dueling 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:31.280 families or deceitful stepmothers. Their deaths might have everything to 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:51.840 do with money. There are lots of theories as to 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:55.880 why Kim jong nam was assassinated. His Peck two blood 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:58.959 was a threat to Kim Jong NaN's power. He had 0:11:59.040 --> 0:12:03.760 argued for warm and opening up. He publicly criticized and 0:12:03.880 --> 0:12:08.640 embarrassed the regime by speaking to journalists. But there's another theory, 0:12:09.080 --> 0:12:11.360 and to understand it you have to know a little 0:12:11.440 --> 0:12:15.920 about how North Korea makes money. The country has a 0:12:16.000 --> 0:12:20.120 diverse portfolio. Each year, it sends tens of thousands of 0:12:20.160 --> 0:12:26.960 migrant laborers, construction workers, loggers, farmers two countries like Kuwait, Botswana, 0:12:27.040 --> 0:12:31.840 and even Poland. These indentured servants send the majority of 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:36.040 their paychecks back to the regime. The country also boasts 0:12:36.080 --> 0:12:40.640 a small manufacturing sector. In the seventies and eighties, North 0:12:40.720 --> 0:12:43.760 Korea was one of the biggest makers and exporters of 0:12:43.800 --> 0:12:48.240 pachinko gambling machines in Asia. They sold many of these 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:53.120 popular systems to the yakuza, But selling gambling games to 0:12:53.160 --> 0:12:57.600 an organized crime syndicate is relatively above board compared to 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:02.240 their other dirty money dealings. Deep inside the concrete bunkers 0:13:02.280 --> 0:13:06.080 of Kung young. A secret government bureau called Room thirty 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:10.800 nine manages hundreds of illicit money making schemes, from human 0:13:10.840 --> 0:13:17.000 trafficking to money laundering to rhinoceros horns smuggling. I would 0:13:17.000 --> 0:13:21.400 say the North Korean leaders are very good at weaponizing 0:13:21.559 --> 0:13:25.720 their own weirdness. That again is Dr Sun Un Lee 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:29.320 of Tufts University. They do these strange things, the state 0:13:29.600 --> 0:13:34.800 sponsoring illegal activities, not only weapons proliferation, but the production 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:39.360 of fake famous brand cigarettes like Marlborough and other brands. 0:13:39.800 --> 0:13:47.760 The North Korean regime is a king among counterfeiters, cigarettes, handbags, sneakers, watches, 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:50.960 you name it, they make it. And in the late 0:13:51.040 --> 0:13:54.600 nineties and early two thousands they were the world's leader 0:13:54.720 --> 0:13:59.880 at pumping out convincingly real hundred dollar bills called super 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:06.120 dollars and matt help them pedal drugs, lots of them. 0:14:06.200 --> 0:14:09.560 They sell drugs. This is the state, not just criminal 0:14:09.679 --> 0:14:13.200 gangs inside North Korea, but the state sponsoring all these 0:14:13.200 --> 0:14:17.959 illicit activities. North Korea ships heroin to places like Australia 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:23.800 and smuggles counterfeit prescription drugs to Bulgaria. It supplies of 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:28.360 Japan's math amphetamine with some high quality crystal meth landing 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:32.920 in the US. One of North Korea's most ingenious money 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:37.400 making methods, however, revolves around a vast network of diplomats 0:14:37.520 --> 0:14:42.120 and international residents, people like Kim Jong nam and Chang 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:47.680 Zong Pec. North Korean diplomat stationed abroad have really behaved 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:53.880 like an official criminal mob under the guise of diplomatic immunity, 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:58.520 engaging in criminal activities for profit. That's because North Korea's 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.920 diplomats and foreign elites are responsible for earning money for 0:15:01.960 --> 0:15:07.640 the regime, often using diplomatic immunity as a cover. Here 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:12.600 again is Michael Madden, originally North Korean. Originally North Korea 0:15:12.680 --> 0:15:15.320 did a lot of these transactions through their embassy, but 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:20.600 the original idea in four was to sell drugs and gold. 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:24.880 There's very strict controls about selling gold, and the way 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:28.320 to avoid that was through the diplomatic black bag, which 0:15:28.400 --> 0:15:32.720 is to say, diplomats have immunity, and the diplomats luggage 0:15:32.720 --> 0:15:36.920 and briefcases cannot be inspected by customs officials. So North 0:15:37.000 --> 0:15:40.800 Korea decided to sell gold and brought opium to be 0:15:40.840 --> 0:15:44.880 processed in and the man who had that bright idea 0:15:44.920 --> 0:15:48.240 to use the diplomatic black bag was a young North 0:15:48.320 --> 0:15:55.560 Korean official named John Song Tech. Since then, these money 0:15:55.560 --> 0:16:00.080 making techniques have only gotten more sophisticated. The leadership like, 0:16:00.160 --> 0:16:02.640 you guys go in a business. The leaders say, you guys, 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.920 go into business for yourselves. You get your own export 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:09.720 import network, on your own book, and as long as 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:11.920 you just turned the money over to me, then we 0:16:11.960 --> 0:16:14.240 won't have a problem. This is a little bit like 0:16:14.280 --> 0:16:16.320 the mafia, where they have to kick up the money 0:16:16.320 --> 0:16:20.120 for the regime. And that maybe what ultimately got Kim 0:16:20.160 --> 0:16:23.400 jong Nam in trouble because as times got tight and 0:16:23.480 --> 0:16:27.440 quotas got harder to hit, North Korean elites may have 0:16:27.560 --> 0:16:31.560 started eyeing each other's money ventures and there was a competition. 0:16:32.120 --> 0:16:36.000 There was a competition, almost a feeding frenzy among North 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:40.120 Korean elites trying to earn foreign currency because it ingratiates 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:44.040 you to the leader. For North Korean elites, there was 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:47.960 an arms race to make money. And if Kim jong 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:51.320 nam had one advantage above the rest, it's that he 0:16:51.520 --> 0:16:56.160 lived in a place where money, clean and dirty, was 0:16:56.240 --> 0:17:11.080 easy to make and even easier to hide. Macau. In 0:17:11.119 --> 0:17:16.119 two thousand four, American law enforcement agencies discovered that Chinese 0:17:16.160 --> 0:17:21.600 gangs were smuggling North Korean made counterfeits, fake currency, fake cigarettes, 0:17:22.000 --> 0:17:26.160 and even fake viagra into the port of Newark, New Jersey. 0:17:27.280 --> 0:17:32.840 What followed is a masterclass and espionage. Two American spies, 0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:38.760 undercover as an engaged couple, infiltrated the criminal network. They 0:17:38.800 --> 0:17:42.920 began helping the group's transport containers of counterfeit goods passed 0:17:42.960 --> 0:17:46.879 you as customs, such as narcotics, and even surface to 0:17:47.000 --> 0:17:53.439 air missiles. After winning the smugglers trust, the love birds 0:17:53.480 --> 0:17:56.160 invited them to a fake wedding on a yacht off 0:17:56.240 --> 0:18:00.440 the coast of Atlantic City. The criminals came to America 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:05.199 and stepped inside limousines that, according to the wedding invitation, 0:18:05.800 --> 0:18:11.600 would take them to the ceremony. Inside the limousines tuxedo 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:18.760 clad FBI agents. The entire operation led to the indictment 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:24.040 of eighties seven suspects, But the biggest surprise came when 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:27.960 secret agents followed the money. It led straight to the 0:18:28.080 --> 0:18:34.120 Shining city on the Pearl River Delta, Macau. Within a year, 0:18:34.359 --> 0:18:38.240 investigators had discovered that nearly every bank in Macau was 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:42.560 laundering super dollars for the North Korean regime. Big banks, 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:47.280 little banks. It didn't matter. Almost all were involved. Even 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.880 the local branch of the Bank of China, the fifth 0:18:50.960 --> 0:18:55.280 largest bank on the planet, was allegedly laundering counterfeit money. 0:18:56.200 --> 0:18:59.159 When it came time to slap Macau's banks with penalties, 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:02.720 the Ues Department of Justice ultimately decided to leave the 0:19:02.720 --> 0:19:08.080 bigger institutions like the Bank of China alone, presumably to 0:19:08.200 --> 0:19:14.440 avoid triggering a global economic catastrophe. Instead, it targeted one small, 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:22.399 family owned institution called Banko Delta Asia. Sanctions reigned down 0:19:22.680 --> 0:19:26.679 on the tiny bank. Suddenly, the institution could no longer 0:19:26.800 --> 0:19:30.199 deal in US currency, essentially locking it out of the 0:19:30.200 --> 0:19:34.520 global economy. The bank froze all of its accounts linked 0:19:34.560 --> 0:19:38.720 to North Korea out of fear of being next. So 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:43.760 did every other bank in Macau. According to congressional testimony, 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:49.000 the freeze worked, North Korea's production lines ground to a halt. 0:19:49.560 --> 0:19:53.760 Even the famously dodgy government of Macau instituted a ream 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:58.320 of new money laundering laws, forcing North Korea's criminal elements 0:19:58.359 --> 0:20:01.919 to find new ways to bank their cash. By this point, 0:20:02.240 --> 0:20:04.760 Kim Jong Nam had been living in Macau for at 0:20:04.880 --> 0:20:09.800 least five years. No evidence, however, has ever tied him 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:13.840 to the laundering scheme. I don't know whether he was 0:20:14.040 --> 0:20:17.680 involved in the Banko Delta Asia situation, but I think 0:20:17.760 --> 0:20:21.720 the reasons for both of these things, for Kim jong 0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:24.600 Nam being there and for Banko Delta Asia being a 0:20:24.640 --> 0:20:27.479 conduit for North Korea or risks on the fact that 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:32.159 Macau was a pretty opaque place. It's difficult, however, to 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:35.280 believe that the son of North Korea's ruler, once the 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:39.199 assumed heir to the whole regime, would be unaware what 0:20:39.320 --> 0:20:43.960 his dad was doing at his neighborhood bank. In fact, 0:20:44.240 --> 0:20:47.199 reports suggest that Kim jong Nam had access to a 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:51.560 substantial cash of counterfeit super dollars, and shortly after the 0:20:51.600 --> 0:20:54.560 Bank of Delta Asia scandal, it appears that Kim jong 0:20:54.640 --> 0:20:58.280 nam began searching for novel ways to make and hide 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:03.280 large sums of money, and in the process he might 0:21:03.359 --> 0:21:07.200 have helped make North Korea one of the most dangerous 0:21:07.320 --> 0:21:15.080 and powerful countries on the planet. In the early two thousands, 0:21:15.400 --> 0:21:19.080 when Kim jong Nam was comfortably settled in Macau, North 0:21:19.160 --> 0:21:25.880 Korea began to pivot from physical counterfeiting and smuggling to cybercrime. This, 0:21:26.119 --> 0:21:29.960 of course, is one of the great ironies of North Korea, 0:21:30.280 --> 0:21:34.080 few citizens there have access to a computer. Those who 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:39.160 do are heavily surveiled with screenshots taken of their activity 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:43.440 every time in app is opened. Instead of the Internet, 0:21:43.800 --> 0:21:47.719 most only have access to an intranet network called Kwangmyong 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:51.520 meaning bright Light, which gives access to up to five 0:21:51.680 --> 0:21:57.600 thousand state approved websites. Only the elite have access to 0:21:57.680 --> 0:22:03.640 the open Internet. And yet, despite this technological repression, North 0:22:03.720 --> 0:22:06.720 Korea is home to some of the most obscenely talented 0:22:06.760 --> 0:22:11.640 computer technicians on the planet. More than seven thousand North 0:22:11.720 --> 0:22:16.600 Koreans worked in the country cyber army, and they start early. 0:22:17.359 --> 0:22:20.280 You know, North Korean hackers are North Korean hackers are 0:22:20.280 --> 0:22:25.119 recruited at about ten years old, so you get a 0:22:25.160 --> 0:22:29.199 young person that's really good at computer systems, especially computer coding. 0:22:29.720 --> 0:22:32.560 North Korea finds them when they're in late elementary school. 0:22:33.000 --> 0:22:36.720 That's where they find their cyber warriors. North Korea does 0:22:36.760 --> 0:22:40.360 that with gymnasts as well, and figure skaters and piano players. 0:22:41.040 --> 0:22:44.520 There's not a great difference in their respective systems. You 0:22:44.560 --> 0:22:47.800 have an aptitude for a certain subject, that's basically what 0:22:47.880 --> 0:22:52.520 you're going to do for the rest of your life. Indeed, 0:22:52.680 --> 0:22:55.760 according to the journalists Ed Caesar of the New Yorker, 0:22:56.320 --> 0:23:00.080 students from Kimilsung University and the Kim Check University the 0:23:00.240 --> 0:23:05.199 technology often quote outperform American and Chinese colleges in the 0:23:05.240 --> 0:23:11.200 international collegiate programming contests. Year after year, North Korean students 0:23:11.240 --> 0:23:15.560 compete at the highest levels at the International Mathematical Olympiad. 0:23:16.080 --> 0:23:20.639 Here again is Jenny Town. North Korea's cyber capabilities have 0:23:20.720 --> 0:23:24.159 really grown over the years um and grown to be 0:23:24.440 --> 0:23:29.680 very adept and very sophisticated. The types of cyber crimes 0:23:29.720 --> 0:23:35.359 that we've seen have been pretty elaborate. UM. We've even 0:23:35.440 --> 0:23:39.639 seen in their intelligence gathering side, a real growth in 0:23:39.680 --> 0:23:43.240 the sophistication of how they try to do different like 0:23:43.320 --> 0:23:47.480 phishing campaigns. So it is a real and a formidable 0:23:47.680 --> 0:23:53.879 force and a real growing part of North Korea's economic strategy. 0:23:54.080 --> 0:23:58.280 Under names like the Beagle Boys, the Lazarus Group, and 0:23:58.400 --> 0:24:05.280 New Romantic, North Korea's Enemy Collapse Sabotage Bureau YEP that's 0:24:05.320 --> 0:24:08.840 its name, have infected computers in more than a hundred 0:24:08.880 --> 0:24:13.080 and fifty countries, where they've robbed banks, held organizations for 0:24:13.280 --> 0:24:17.840 ransom and hacked a t MS. North Korea's computer wizards 0:24:17.840 --> 0:24:20.800 have digitally laundered money in the Philippines and have crypto 0:24:20.920 --> 0:24:24.880 jack that has stolen more than one point seven five 0:24:25.000 --> 0:24:30.159 billion dollars in cryptocurrency. They've even breached the servers of 0:24:30.160 --> 0:24:34.120 the South Korean Army, obtaining the military plans of their 0:24:34.200 --> 0:24:39.480 neighboring enemy. This is Kim jong Nam's legacy in North 0:24:39.600 --> 0:24:45.720 Korea and for that matter, the world. Na If we 0:24:45.840 --> 0:24:48.680 go and track Kim jong Nam at the Korean Computer 0:24:48.800 --> 0:24:55.240 Center from around they're importing computers into the country. They're 0:24:55.240 --> 0:24:59.160 importing computers into North Korean schools. Those are the tools 0:24:59.200 --> 0:25:02.960 they eventually was for recruiting hackers. Kim jong Nam is 0:25:03.080 --> 0:25:06.080 essentially responsible for a lot of the computer hardware that 0:25:06.119 --> 0:25:09.359 the cyber warriors trained on in the nineties and the 0:25:09.359 --> 0:25:12.919 early two thousand's. Kim Jong Nam planted the seeds for 0:25:13.040 --> 0:25:17.040 North Korea's vast and powerful network of hackers, and not 0:25:17.119 --> 0:25:21.240 only that, he might have been actively supporting these activities 0:25:21.560 --> 0:25:27.280 from his home in Macau. Shortly after the Banko Delta fiasco, 0:25:27.760 --> 0:25:30.960 Kim jong Nam visited the Shangri La Hotel in Bangkok 0:25:31.320 --> 0:25:34.920 and met with an expert in Internet security. Chong Nam 0:25:35.000 --> 0:25:39.320 used a false name, introducing himself as Johnny Kim, and 0:25:39.359 --> 0:25:42.560 explained that he was running a business and he needed 0:25:42.600 --> 0:25:47.359 an I T specialist who could protect his servers. Unaware 0:25:47.480 --> 0:25:51.240 of Johnny Kim's real identity and unsure of the nature 0:25:51.320 --> 0:25:54.720 of his work, the Internet expert agreed to take the job. 0:25:55.640 --> 0:25:59.119 The same man who would anonymously discuss these details with 0:25:59.160 --> 0:26:03.840 Anna Fifield told her that something was fishy about the 0:26:03.880 --> 0:26:09.320 man called Johnny Kim. He described going around places in 0:26:09.480 --> 0:26:13.800 Southeast Asia together with Kim Jong Nam and just talked 0:26:13.840 --> 0:26:19.400 about how security conscious he was. He always walked down 0:26:19.480 --> 0:26:21.920 back alleys and places where he knew that there wouldn't 0:26:21.960 --> 0:26:25.880 be UH security cameras. He was always on the lookout 0:26:26.000 --> 0:26:29.800 for Japanese people, in particular because Japanese journalists had been 0:26:29.920 --> 0:26:34.000 so aggressive or active in trying to track him down 0:26:34.040 --> 0:26:36.399 and talk to him. So he was someone who very 0:26:36.480 --> 0:26:39.600 much had his wits about him. Even as a manager, 0:26:40.080 --> 0:26:44.000 Kim Jong Nam was secretive. The Internet expert was paid 0:26:44.080 --> 0:26:48.960 in one dollar bills later revealed to be counterfeit super dollars. 0:26:49.720 --> 0:26:53.040 The man was paired with two cyber specialists, both of 0:26:53.080 --> 0:26:58.480 them apparently North Korean's. Eventually, the Internet expert learned that 0:26:58.600 --> 0:27:02.879 kim so called business was actually dozens upon dozens of 0:27:03.119 --> 0:27:09.760 gambling websites. Online gambling is an easy way to launder money. 0:27:09.880 --> 0:27:13.640 It's virtual, there's high cash flow coming from across the globe, 0:27:13.920 --> 0:27:18.120 and there are significant profit margins by running not just one, 0:27:18.440 --> 0:27:22.120 but dozens of gambling sites. It's believed that Kim jong 0:27:22.200 --> 0:27:27.919 Nam could spread illegal and counterfeit funds around, diluting suspicious activity, 0:27:28.880 --> 0:27:34.760 and this suggests a tantalizing theory. When North Korea could 0:27:34.840 --> 0:27:39.159 no longer launder physical dollars in Macau's bank, did it 0:27:39.280 --> 0:27:42.720 find a work around by embracing the murky world of 0:27:42.880 --> 0:27:47.479 internet gambling? And was Kim jong Nam the mastermind behind it? 0:27:48.280 --> 0:27:51.119 And more to the point, if he was making money 0:27:51.200 --> 0:27:55.240 this way, was he keeping it for himself or sending 0:27:55.240 --> 0:27:59.960 it back to the regime. There are also plenty of 0:28:00.040 --> 0:28:04.119 suggestions that he was still in cohots with the regime, 0:28:04.680 --> 0:28:08.800 whether it was sending money back, you know, raising money 0:28:08.840 --> 0:28:12.400 for the regime or for his uncle Down Song Tech, 0:28:12.720 --> 0:28:15.920 who was he was very close to. Were Chang Song 0:28:16.000 --> 0:28:19.359 Tech and Kim Jong Nam working together to launder money 0:28:20.080 --> 0:28:22.800 was Kim jong Nam sent to Macau not to satisfy 0:28:22.960 --> 0:28:26.640 his capitalist playboy lifestyle, but because it was a kind 0:28:26.640 --> 0:28:30.399 of place where he could exploit capitalism. This was a 0:28:30.440 --> 0:28:32.520 place where he was able to do a lot of 0:28:32.600 --> 0:28:38.479 his business, including potentially running computing or tech businesses for 0:28:38.560 --> 0:28:42.560 the North Korean regime. They've been suggestions over the years 0:28:42.560 --> 0:28:45.440 that he was running the Korean Computer Center and involved 0:28:45.440 --> 0:28:49.200 in a lot of cyber activities, either on behalf of 0:28:49.240 --> 0:28:52.280 the North Korean regime or on on his own behalf. 0:28:52.320 --> 0:28:56.080 There we don't have solid answers to these questions. Kim 0:28:56.160 --> 0:28:59.080 jong Nam might have had access to millions of dollars 0:28:59.400 --> 0:29:02.040 at a time, and other North Korean elites were desperate 0:29:02.080 --> 0:29:05.040 to make money for the regime, And as one of 0:29:05.040 --> 0:29:09.320 our sources who agreed to speak on background suggested, there's 0:29:09.360 --> 0:29:14.560 another layer to this tantalizing theory. Kim jong Nam's online 0:29:14.600 --> 0:29:17.680 businesses were much more than just fronts to make money. 0:29:18.400 --> 0:29:22.680 They were also backdoors to order and procure equipment for 0:29:22.720 --> 0:29:26.880 the regime. That is, when North Korea could an import 0:29:26.920 --> 0:29:30.680 and item because of sanctions, Kim Jong Nam, from the 0:29:30.800 --> 0:29:35.120 safety of Southern China could use his online businesses to 0:29:35.320 --> 0:29:39.040 procure it for them, and according to our source, he 0:29:39.240 --> 0:29:42.440 used that loophole to buy gadgets and tech that could 0:29:42.440 --> 0:29:47.440 be used to fuel North Korea's cyber warfare division. Then 0:29:47.560 --> 0:29:50.360 Kim jong Nam was not living a life of exile 0:29:50.440 --> 0:29:54.640 in Macao. He was actively helping build up one of 0:29:54.640 --> 0:30:01.080 the regime's most notorious and now dangerous divisions. In other words, 0:30:01.640 --> 0:30:06.640 Kim jong Nam had power, and that might have stoked 0:30:06.720 --> 0:30:09.400 the ire of other North Korean elites who were not 0:30:09.480 --> 0:30:13.280 only jealous of the connections he had, but also struggling 0:30:13.280 --> 0:30:18.400