Shadow State: The Secret History of North Korea’s Room 39

About this episode

This episode investigates Room 39, a secretive North Korean government branch involved in generating foreign currency through illicit means.

Deep within the closed borders of Pyongyang sits Room 39, a highly secretive government branch dedicated to generating hard foreign currency for the North Korean regime. This gripping investigative episode unpacks the shadowy world of state-sponsored operations, tracking how billions of dollars flow through global networks via illicit trade, counterfeit currencies, and state-sanctioned smuggling. Discover the high-stakes intelligence operations that have spent decades trying to expose and dismantle the world’s most elusive financial network.

Topics covered

• North Korea
• intelligence operations
• illicit trade
• counterfeit currencies
• state-sponsored operations

Keywords

• North Korea
• Room 39
• illicit trade
• counterfeit currency
• smuggling
• intelligence operations
• financial network

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: North Korea, Room 39

Places: Pyongyang

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