North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, has reportedly acquired several luxurious cars in violation of UN sanctions, despite the country’s ongoing economic challenges.
According to reports, Kim was seen driving four new foreign vehicles in the past month, including a £200,000 armoured Mercedes-Maybach S560 sedan, along with luxury Mercedes and Lexus SUVs, and Ford vans.
It remains unclear how these vehicles entered North Korea, a country subjected to severe United Nations sanctions for over a decade in an effort to curb its nuclear weapons and missile programs. However, North Korea has a history of smuggling in luxury items, including high-end watches, designer bags, clothing, and expensive alcohol, which are enjoyed by the ruling Kim dynasty and elites in Pyongyang.
Recently, Japanese police thwarted an attempt to smuggle a $70,000 Lexus into North Korea via Bangladesh. The car dealer involved allegedly claimed that Singapore was the final destination, violating Japanese Customs Act regulations.
Kim Jong-un has a known fondness for extravagant possessions, such as yachts, jet skis, and high-end cars, which he often displays to the North Korean population, despite widespread poverty.
In the past, he has been seen riding in a Rolls-Royce Phantom and, more recently, in a black Mercedes limousine surrounded by jogging bodyguards during a historic meeting with the South Korean president in 2018.
State television footage recently aired Kim’s arrival at the National Meeting of Mothers in his new S650 sedan, accompanied by a convoy of Lexus and Toyota SUVs equipped with new police lights and security emblems.
Despite maritime surveillance efforts by the US and its allies to prevent sanctions breaches, luxury goods continue to appear in North Korea. A suspected new route serviced by Russian cargo ships to North Korea’s Rason on the northeast coast is believed to facilitate these shipments.
In 2019, a report by the Washington-based Centre for Advanced Defence Studies highlighted Pyongyang’s ability to smuggle vehicles through China, South Korea, and Japan, illustrating its capability to supply its nuclear weapons program. The centre recently identified 17 vessels registered to Pacific nations that it believes are linked to “illicit” North Korean oil supply chains.
