Jon Il Chun Visits May 11 Factory with KJI

UPDATE (8 August 2011)

Jon Il-chun (circled in red), head of Office 38 of the Workers' Party of (North) Korea, is pictured as he carries a wreath at Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery on Mount Daesong in Pyongyang on July 27, the 58th anniversary of the signing of the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War. Jon made his first public appearance in seven months. His office is known for engaging in driving revenue by dealing in narcotics, arms, natural resources and others. (Yonhap)

Prior to visiting the 11 May Factory with Kim Jong Il, Jon Il Chun assisted in delivering a floral wreath to the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery on Mt. Taesong on 27 July, which the DPRK commemorates as a victory day in the Fatherland Liberation (Korean) War.

Jon Il Chun (3rd L) attends Kim Jong Il's visit to the 11 May Factory (Photo: KCNA-Yonhap)

Jon Il Chun (Chon Il-chun) attended Kim Jong Il’s visit to the May 11 Factory. According to several sources, Jon is daily manager of Office #39 under the party’s Finance and Accounting Department. Jon has either been reported or observed attending KJI’s visits for several years, most recently in December 2010 during KJI’s visit to the So’nhu’ng foodstuffs factory and Hyangmallu Restaurant in December 2010.

Office #39 is the key institution in the DPRK’s party economy. It operates a network of companies that earn foreign currency through legitimate (seafood; herbal nutrient supplements; furs; labor contracts) and illicit (heroin and amphetamine production and distribution; small arms sales; counterfeiting) means. Office #39 is also linked to proliferation finance, and some companies within it are linked to the purchase of parts and technology for the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Revenues subsidize the personal lives of DPRK elites and portion or deposited to KJI’s foreign bank accounts.