Qualla: Room 39 https://qualla.com/room-39 en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:39 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_res/siteimages/rsslogo.png Qualla: Room 39 https://qualla.com/room-39 Room 39: Introduction https://qualla.com/room-39/ Somewhere inside a Workers' Party building in Pyongyang, not far from one of the Kim family's residences, there is an office whose activities read like a spy thriller's rejected plot for being too implausible. Room 39 -- officially Central Committee Bureau 39 -- is North Korea's clandestine revenue machine, estimated to funnel between $500 million and $1 billion annually into the leadership's coffers. Its portfolio includes counterfeiting American hundred-dollar bills so convincing they earned the nickname 'superdollars,' synthesizing methamphetamine for export, and orchestrating insurance fraud schemes across multiple continents.

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]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/c/m/room-39-wp/wycm-room-39-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Room 39: Named for an Arbitrary Door https://qualla.com/room-39/ The organization's origins trace to 1972, when Kim Jong Il created a department within the Workers' Party's Finance and Accounting division. According to defector Kim Kwang-jin, the name came from nothing more meaningful than the office number where operations first began. What s...

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]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/c/m/room-39-wp/wycm-room-39-named-for-an-arbitrary-door.mp3 0:06 2 full Room 39: The Superdollar and Other Enterprises https://qualla.com/room-39/ Room 39's criminal operations span a remarkable range. Its counterfeit hundred-dollar bills were of such quality that they circulated widely before detection, earning designation as 'superdollars' by U.S. investigators. The bureau reportedly produced heroin by converting morphine...

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]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/c/m/room-39-wp/wycm-room-39-the-superdollar-and-other-enterprises.mp3 0:06 3 full Room 39: The Insurance Gambit https://qualla.com/room-39/ Perhaps the most audacious scheme involved North Korea's state-owned Korea National Insurance Corporation. KNIC obtained reinsurance contracts with international companies, then submitted fraudulent claims. Because the contracts were governed by North Korean law, international le...

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]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/c/m/room-39-wp/wycm-room-39-the-insurance-gambit.mp3 0:06 4 full Room 39: Evading the Tightening Net https://qualla.com/room-39/ Defectors have provided rare glimpses into how Room 39 moves money across borders. Ri Jong Ho, a former chairman of the Korea Kumgang Group who ran trading operations through China, described transferring cash by ship and train to circumvent sanctions. He oversaw a joint venture ...

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]]> Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/w/y/c/m/room-39-wp/wycm-room-39-evading-the-tightening-net.mp3 0:06 5 full