Luxury on Display: Kim Jong-un’s motorcade challenges UN sanctions
A Toyota Land Cruiser 300 model vehicle (on the left), with its logo removed, appeared in the motorcade of Chairman Kim Jong-un during his visit to Kim Il-sung University on Apr. 26, 2024. /Korean Central News Agency
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un was seen in a motorcade with high-end luxury vehicles, indicating a disregard for UN sanctions on importing restricted luxury vehicles and potential weapons and related equipment.
According to NK News, the North Korea-specialized media on Apr. 26 six Toyota Land Cruiser 300 vehicles were spotted in the motorcade of Kim Jong-un, the supreme leader of North Korea.
This was observed during Kim Jong-un’s visit to the Kim Il-sung Military University, which was aired on North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency. The six Toyota vehicles captured in the video all had their brand logos removed and were equipped with flashing lights. The Land Cruiser model from the year 2021 costs approximately $80,000.
It is unclear when and how North Korea imported these vehicles. However, this is evidence that North Korea is circumventing United Nations sanctions that have prohibited the export of transportation means to the country since 2017.
In addition to Toyota, various luxury vehicles were found in the parade, including two Mercedes-Benz Maybach SUVs, two Lexus LX SUVs, two Ford Transit vans, five older Mercedes sedans, and one unidentified SUV.
Apart from these, Kim is known to own a few other high-end vehicles. One of them is a new Cadillac SUV of American origin, the source of which is unclear. Another one is a Russian-made Aurus limousine, which is often referred to as the ‘Russian Rolls Royce.’ This vehicle was gifted to him by Vladimir Putin earlier this year.
According to NK News, Kim Jong-un’s recent display of foreign cars in a parade indicates that North Korea is finding ways to import large items, such as vehicles, despite international sanctions. This raises concerns that they might also be importing weapons and related production equipment, which could further violate the existing sanctions.