NK Luxury Imports

[Anchor Lead]

Measures to ban North Korea from importing luxury goods are proving ineffective. A trading company in Singapore is accused of selling U.N.-sanctioned luxury items to North Korea.

[Pkg]

This store is located in Pyongyang. t is packed with luxury imports. hisky priced at several hundreds of dollars per bottle fill a display case. A German wristwatch with a price tag of 4,300 US dollars is also being sold in the store.

[Soundbite] CNN Report

Resembling a fancy duty-free shop, the Buksae Store is located in Pyongyang's Moranbong area and the Ryukyong Store near the Ryukyong Hotel. NK News, an American website specializing in North Korean affairs, reported that a Singaporean trading company has been selling luxury imported goods to these two stores. Their main customers are the Pyongyang elite.

[Soundbite] CNN Report

Exports of luxury goods to North Korea were banned by UN Resolution 1718 in 2006, immediately after Pyongyang's first nuclear test. ut Kim Jong-un has not been daunted by the measure, importing all manner of extravagant items, from yachts and cars to watches, electronic goods, and liquor. n fact, during the first three years of the Kim Jong-un regime, North Korea imported nearly 2.1 billion dollars' worth of luxury foreign goods. That's a 54.4% increase compared to the last three years of Kim Jong-il's reign. Dennis Rodman, who had been to North Korea five times, testified that Kim Jong-un enjoyed drinking parties, jet skiing, and horse-back riding at a seven-star hotel and a luxury yacht on an island. Experts point out that the young Kim Jong-un, known to surpass his father in opulent lifestyle, is trying to keep the regime's elite officials loyal by showering them with lavish gifts.