Gucci, Dior, IWC... North Korea's Top Officials' Hypocritical 'Luxury Brand Love'

Kim Yo-jong and Choe Son-hui Luxury Bag Photos Captured
Over 10 Million North Korean Residents Face Hunger and Malnutrition

Amid Kim Jong-un, Chairman of North Korea's State Affairs Commission, visiting Russia, high-ranking North Korean women accompanying him have attracted attention by carrying luxury handbags. Despite North Korea's ongoing economic difficulties, criticism arises that the top echelon remains indulged in luxury.

On the 18th (local time), the U.S.-based North Korea specialist media NK News reported, citing photos released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency on the 16th, that Choe Son-hui, North Korea's Foreign Minister, who visited the Yuri Gagarin Aviation Factory in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, was carrying an Italian luxury brand Gucci handbag.

The Gucci bag carried by Foreign Minister Choe at the time was the Zumi model made of ostrich leather, which is no longer in production but is traded on the secondhand market for around $10,000 (approximately 13.3 million KRW), making it a high-priced item.

Kim Yo-jong (left), younger sister of North Korean National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un, Choe Son-hui, Minister of Foreign Affairs (center), and Hyon Song-wol, Deputy Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, each carrying a bag.
[Photo by NK News·Korean Central News Agency]

Kim Yo-jong, Kim Jong-un's younger sister, was also spotted carrying a black Dior handbag. The handbag Kim Yo-jong carried is a high-end Lady Dior made of calf leather, currently sold for $7,000 (about 9.29 million KRW) on Dior's official website.

In contrast, Hyon Song-wol, Deputy Director of the Propaganda and Agitation Department, visited Komsomolsk-on-Amur carrying a Chinese-made handbag that can be purchased for $8 on Chinese websites.

Najanin Jade-Cummings, Deputy Director of the Humanitarian Leadership Centre at the University of Sydney, Australia, explained to NK News, "It is common for North Korea's high-ranking officials to possess items that ordinary citizens cannot even dream of," adding, "This is a representative example showing the huge gap between the lives of North Korea's ultra-elite and ordinary residents."

Kim Jong-un Also Frequently Appears at Official Events Wearing Luxury Watches

However, the high-ranking North Korean officials' love for luxury goods remains unchanged. The watch Chairman Kim Jong-un wore during his visit to Russia was a Swiss-made IWC Schaffhausen, and in the past, his wife Ri Sol-ju was photographed carrying a Dior handbag. Their daughter Kim Ju-ae has also appeared wearing a Dior coat.
[Photo by Yonhap News Agency·Korean Central News Agency]

North Korea has, for several years, strongly cracked down on foreign high-end brand products, labeling them as "weapons used by capitalist countries to destroy North Korea." Furthermore, according to UN Security Council Resolution 1718, adopted in response to North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006, the export of luxury goods to North Korea is prohibited.

However, the love for luxury goods among North Korea's high-ranking officials remains unchanged. The watch Kim Jong-un wore during his visit to Russia was a Swiss-made IWC Schaffhausen watch, and in the past, his wife Ri Sol-ju was photographed carrying a Dior handbag. Their daughter Kim Ju-ae has also appeared wearing a Dior coat. Kim Yo-jong was spotted carrying a Bulgari handbag when a Chinese delegation visited Pyongyang in late July.

According to a UN report last year, over 10 million North Korean residents suffered from hunger and malnutrition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.