North Korea Buys Chinese "People's Cars"

Around 100 Chinese-made cars were brought into North Korea from China on Tuesday, supposedly destined for Kim Jong Il’s favored officials, reported Chosun Ilbo, a Seoul daily newspaper.

The gifts are to be offered on Thursday with the occasion of Kim Il Sung’s birthday anniversary, the father of the actual North Korean leader. The Chosun Ilbo said a North Korean source had seen around 30 identical vehicles crossing the Yalu River on a bridge, from the Chinese city of Dandong into Sinuiju three times on Tuesday.

The vehicles were the compact BYD F3 sedan referred to as the ''people's car'' in China due to its popularity, the report said. Starting last week, North Korea also brought in more than 200 cars, including luxury foreign cars, jeeps and large vans, believed to to be worth around US$5m, Kyodo News said.

''To my knowledge, the latest cars are gifts for mid-level officials at North Korea's prosecution and state security agency and have been allocated to specific people in different regions,'' the source was quoted as saying. The reports noted that North Korea has offered foreign-made cars to ensure the loyalty of senior officials on the birthday occasions of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il. The source said the Chinese-made cars imported this week are believed to be gifts for the middle ranks.

Priced at around USD9300, the BYD F3 features a 4-cylinder 1.5 liter Mitsubishi Orion engine developing 100 horsepower. In 2009, the BYD F3 held the honors as top selling compact vehicle in China.