North Korea has claimed that it has developed an advanced hydrogen bomb said to have 'great destructive power'. Source: Fox News
Despite bearing the brunt of stiff international sanctions, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un continues to splash cash on personal luxuries and advancing the country's weapons program.
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and other world leaders are hoping "unprecedented pressure" should be brought to bear on the hermit kingdom including sanctionson the country's foreign trading back, a block on remittances and bans on coal, iron ore and seafood.
But if the sanctions are having any effect on Kim's lifestyle, he's certainly not showing it. The Supreme Leader's recent purchases are thought to include a gleaming white yacht, expensive liquors and even the equipment necessary to kit out a luxury ski resort, according to CNN.
The country purchased $645.8 million ($900 million) worth of luxury goods in 2012, CNN stated according to a 2014 report from the UN.
The numbers just don't add up. In March, North Korea's state media warned citizens to prepare for economic hardships ahead as the rogue nation channeled funding into its weapons program.
"The path to the revolution is never easy, we might have to go through Arduous March again-in which we only had to eat roots of the grass-and we might have to fight against our enemies all by one's self," the editorial said, according to a CNBC translation of the Korean text.
Experts told CNN the North's extravagant purchases are made using Kim's personal piggy bank, filled by Pyongyang's illicit dealings across the globe.
The country has been accused of crimes such as hacking banks, selling weapons, dealing drugs and even trafficking endangered species - operations that could potentially rake in hundreds of millions of dollars.
"That money also helps pay for the country's nuclear and missile programs, both of which Pyongyang believes it needs in order to deter any US-led attempt at regime change," experts told CNN.
A 2008 Congressional Research Service report said Pyongyang could generate anywhere from $500 million to $1 billion in profits annually from its ill-gotten gains.
