North Korea making knockoff rice cookers from closed South Korean factory in Kaesong

North Korea is turning out a knockoff version of South Korea’s famous Cuckoo rice cooker from a shuttered South Korean plant in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Models with Cuckoo rice cookers. [YONHAP]

North Korea is turning out a knockoff version of South Korea’s famous Cuckoo rice cooker from a shuttered South Korean plant in the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

South Korean companies were forced to pull out of the inter-Korean industrial complex in the North Korean city of Kaesong in 2016.

According to the JoongAng Ilbo, several anonymous sources said the North Koreans are selling a rice cooker manufactured at Cuckoo Electronics’ Kaesong plant at Pyongyang Department Store in the nation's capital.

The knockoff South Korean rice cooker has been a huge hit in the North.

Cuckoo Electronics, the South Korean company that makes the Cuckoo rice cooker, has not given the North consent to use its factory in Kaesong.

The rice cookers are sold under a different brand, “Amneokbap Gama,” which translates as "pressurized rice cooker.”

However, as the rice cooker is missing a key component that controls the pressure, there have several reported explosions.

Exports of the key component to North Korea are banned under international sanctions.

Cuckoo left behind 10,000 rice cockers and enough components to make 420,000 more.

According to the JoongAng Ilbo report, the North Korean government sold the completed rice cookers to not only domestic partners but also overseas ones.

It also started to illegally manufacture the rice cooker with components left behind by Cuckoo for sale.

“Components that consistently supply power to the rice cooker and control the pressure are categorized as strategic materials that are banned from being exported to North Korea,” said an industry insider, who requested anonymity. “North Korea is continuing to produce rice cookers that are missing proper components. If the pressure control system does not operate properly, the cooker could explode and kill someone."

“There have been several cases where that actually happened.”

Although North Korea knows the risk, it seems to be continuing to manufacture the rice cooker anyway because it's hugely popular.

The model which makes rice for up to six people sells for $50 at the department store in Pyongyang, while the larger model that makes rice for up to 10 people sells for $80.

The average monthly salary in North Korea is reportedly between $40 and $50.

In comparison, a South Korean makes around $2,500 a month.

The South Korean government has recently asked North Korea to stop using South Korean assets at the Kaesong Industrial Park, including buses, which have been spotted being used as public transportation in Pyongyang.

The North Korean government has stopped responding to the South Korean government's calls since April 7.

Planet Labs view of the Kaesong Indusrial Complex in July shows buses that were used to commute North Koreans that worked at the South Korean plants. [VOA YOUTUBE CAPTURE]

BY KANG TAE-HWA [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]