North Korean Elites Go on a Shopping Spree in Dandong

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that, despite the ban on the exports of luxury goods to North Korea by the U.N., North Korean elites are buying luxury goods in China.

The most popular shopping venue among the North Koreans is the neighboring Chinese city of Dandong which is separated from the North by the Yalu River. North Koreans are seen in hotels and department stores of the city. Some North Koreans bought new cars in a Toyota dealer shop near the checkpoint of Dandong customs, while a rich North Korean customer spent $50,000 in cash purchasing a luxury sedan.

Gold is among the popular shopping items of the North Koreans. A clerk at a jewelry shop in a department store in the city said, “North Korean women buy gold necklaces and accessories everyday.” A clerk at the L`ORÉAL shop in the same department said that North Koreans are frequent buyers and that body creams for women who want to look slim sell particularly well. North Korean women also enjoy milk baths and massages in riverside spas in the city.

According to the Chinese customs, China’s exports of fir coats and fake fir items to North Korea in the first 10 months of this year increased by as much as seven times from the same period last year. Electronics exports, including TVs, and perfumes and cosmetics exports also went up 77 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

Some North Koreans have even purchased apartments in Dandong. A North Korean is known to have bought a three-room apartment in cash for about $100,000. Park Yong-ho, who defected from North Korea, said, “Life is very easy for high-ranking officials of the DPRK Workers’ Party, military officers, and those who are in the trading business.”

The WSJ points out that the effect of the ban on luxury goods exports to North Korea by the U.S. hinges on China, North Korea’s largest trading partner. China has yet to release a list of banned luxury goods to North Korea.