Japan’s Kyodo News says North Korea has shut down an organization that managed personal funds for former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Kyodo News quoted sources familiar with North Korean affairs as saying on Thursday that Pyongyang abolished Office 38, which was believed to be under the Secretariat of the Workers' Party of Korea. The report described the agency as “an organ tasked with raising and managing slush funds for” the late North Korean leader and the ruling elite.

The report added that Office 39, which was devoted to bringing in foreign currency for Kim Jong-il through drugs, weapons and natural resources, also closed down.

Kyodo said the latest move reflected North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s intent to rationalize institutes that raise foreign currency and was “intended to revitalize the economy and improve people's living standard by increasing the role of the Cabinet.”