SEOUL – Ms Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was seen holding a US$7,000 (S$9,500) bag from French luxury brand Christian Dior during their recent trip to Russia.
The black bag with quilted patterns resembles a Lady Dior bag sold on Dior’s official website, according to a photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.
The photo was taken while the Kims were visiting the Yuri Gagarin Aviation Plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a city in the Russian Far East.
It is not the first time Kim family members have appeared in public brandishing foreign luxury goods.
During North Korea’s Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile test launch in March, Mr Kim’s daughter Ju Ae was seen wearing a US$1,900 black coat, also presumed to be from Dior.
Mr Kim himself was seen wearing a watch from Swiss manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen worth US$13,400 during a military parade celebrating the 75th anniversary of the North’s ruling Worker’s Party in 2020.
In recent years, there has been a surge in demand for luxury goods in North Korea.
In the past, that was limited to the Kim family. But recently, several North Korean elites have also had access to international high-end brands.
State-owned shops in Pyongyang are reportedly selling luxury goods by receiving US dollars from customers and giving North Korean won as change.
According to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2270, the import of foreign luxury brands into North Korea is explicitly banned. However, the Kim family allegedly has a separate entity that procures luxury goods and food for them.
The Kim family’s love of luxury brands has been met with heavy criticism outside the country’s borders, especially following the BBC’s report in June on North Koreans starving to death because of food scarcity. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
