Image via Lexus
North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has a taste for the finer things in life. Considering he’s celebrated as a deity among his people, who live a rather austere lifestyle, he seems to believe that entitles him to own many luxury cars. However, there’s a big problem: sanctions imposed by the international community forbid the exportation of luxury vehicles to the communist regime.
Check out Shohei Ohtani’s car collection.
That didn’t stop a Japanese car dealer based in Chiba from allegedly plotting to sneak a Lexus into North Korea. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the elaborate plot involved declaring the final destination for the car as Singapore, even though the plan was to ship it to Bangladesh. How it would be shipped from there to North Korea wasn’t detailed out.
Someone ratted out the company and word got back to authorities in Japan, who put a stop to the shipment. While the exact model of the Lexus wasn’t disclosed, it reportedly retails for 10 million yen or $69,029. Given the price tag, we don’t think it was an LS sedan or LC convertible.
Kim Jong-un has made public appearances in a number of foreign luxury cars, including a Lexus LX and a Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600. He obviously is paying someone to smuggle these and other goods into the country in violation of international trade laws.
North Korea has a long history of receiving luxury goods, including cars, and not paying for them. Back in the 1970s it ordered 1,000 Volvos from Sweden, took the vehicles, and never paid a cent. The Swedish government is still trying to collect for that and other unfulfilled business transactions. We sure hope the dealer in this latest case got cash up front, otherwise it likely would’ve been stiffed for the Lexus.
Image via Lexus
