Italy Seizes Liquor Bound for DPRK

According to the Choson Ilbo:

Italian customs recently confiscated 420 bottles of expensive liquor on their way to North Korea. Italian newspaper Vivere Ancona said customs in the eastern port city seized 150 bottles of brandy and 270 bottles of whisky in containers destined for North Korea at the end of last month.

The confiscation follows a UN Security Council ban on the export of arms, high technology and luxury goods to North Korea after the communist country’s nuclear test in May. The liquor is reportedly worth 12,000 euro, but the brands were not identified.

In July, Italian customs seized two luxury yachts worth W23 billion ordered by North Korea (US$1=W1,222). At the time, the order was disguised as coming from a Chinese company, but the investigation revealed it had actually been made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Here is a post about the yachts.

Here is a post about DPRK weapons seized by UAE.

Read the full story here:
Italy Seizes Luxury Liquor Bound for N.Korea
The Choson Ilbo
9/14/2009

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One Response to “Italy Seizes Liquor Bound for DPRK”

  1. It’s very sad that the DPRK’s “Inner Party” elite see fit to import expensive liquors and luxury yachts at a time when most citizens are afflicted by chronic poverty and malnutrition, and even Pyongyang doesn’t have a reliable electric supply. And yet most North Koreans will never hear a word of this.