Kim's Maybach SUV raises doubts about sanctions on North

North Korean state media has aired footage of leader Kim Jong-un riding a previously unseen Mercedes-Benz sports utility vehicle (SUV) designated for his use, highlighting the regime's ability to import luxury goods despite international sanctions.

In this photograph released by Pyongyang's state-controlled Korean Central Television on Monday, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is seen greeting an official shortly after getting out of a Mercedes-Benz Maybach GLS 600 sports utility vehicle. The rear right-side door bears the insignia of his position as president of the North's State Affairs Commission. [YONHAP]

North Korean state media has aired footage of leader Kim Jong-un riding a previously unseen Mercedes-Benz sports utility vehicle (SUV) designated for his use, highlighting the regime's ability to import luxury goods despite international sanctions.

On Monday, the North’s state-controlled Korean Central Television aired footage of Kim getting out of a Maybach GLS 600 SUV, which was first released by the German automaker in 2019.

The rear door on the right side of the vehicle bore the insignia of Kim’s official position as the president of the State Affairs Commission.

The car model’s release date, paired with the passage of a United Nations Security Council resolution in 2006 that banned the export of luxury vehicles and consumer goods to the North, indicates the regime is still managing to bring in high-end items for use by its leadership in spite of sanctions.

Kim was photographed in the driver’s seat of a different SUV that appeared to be a Lexus LX 570 when he toured flood-stricken areas in the North after torrential rain in August 2020.

The North’s state media has made little effort to conceal regime leaders’ use of various Mercedes-Benz vehicles, including a limousine, in defiance of international sanctions targeting Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs.

High-ranking North Korean officials, including Workers’ Party Central Committee secretaries Kim Jae-ryong and Pak Thae-song, have been documented arriving at a year-end party meeting held last month in Mercedes-Benz S-class sedans in separate footage broadcast by the state television network.

Cabinet Premier Kim Tok-hun arrived at the same meeting in a Mercedes-Benz S-class limousine.

Such officials likely received their vehicles as gifts from Kim in recognition of their loyalty or contributions to the regime, as well as visible symbols of his favor.

The North Korean leader’s father, Kim Jong-il, who ruled the North until his death in 2011, was known for distributing cars with license plate numbers beginning with “216” — symbolizing his birthday on Feb. 16 — to officials he personally favored.

According to research by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies and the New York Times in 2019, high-end Western goods have made their way to the North through multiple port transfers, obscure front companies and concealed shipping routes.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry said in October that Kim Jong-un and his family are spending millions of dollars annually on luxury goods while his regime continues to struggle with chronic food shortages and economic difficulties.

The ministry noted that Kim and his family appear to “flaunt their luxury goods without regard for the public gaze.”

Photos released by state media often show Kim and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, wearing Swiss luxury watches, while his sister Kim Yo-jong was spotted carrying a black Dior leather bag during his visit to Russia in September.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]