Reports from Yonhap News Agency indicate that the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has begun using a Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 for official travel. This move comes amid ongoing international sanctions that ban the import of luxury goods, including high-end vehicles, into North Korea. The issue underscores the tension between the regime’s procurement of prestige vehicles and the global push to curb luxury imports tied to sanctions designed to pressure Pyongyang over its nuclear program.
Footage aired by North Korean central television on Monday showed Kim Jong-un alighting from a black SUV bearing the emblem of the State Affairs Commission on the rear door on the right side. The visual appearance of such a vehicle in state media highlights the public presentation of power through choice of chauffeured transport, which often serves as a subtle signal to domestic and international audiences about the leadership’s status and security arrangements.
Observers note that Kim Jong-un has been seen publicly with several Mercedes-Benz models in recent years, despite the international sanctions regime aimed at North Korea. The repeated display of luxury cars in official settings raises questions about how the regime navigates sanctions and whether access to these vehicles is obtained through informal channels or through sanctioned loopholes that some analysts say exist for essential government use.
In October a report highlighted that Kim Jong-un and his family purportedly spend millions of dollars each year on luxury goods. This spending occurs even as the country contends with chronic food shortages and a fragile economy that has been strained further by sanctions and the effects of the pandemic. The discrepancy between the state’s public messaging about economic hardship and the private accumulation of luxury items has drawn extensive commentary from regional experts and human rights observers who monitor how regime priorities are set and funded.
Earlier reports also noted broader consumer trends within the region, including a marked increase in the purchase of secondhand vehicles. In 2023, Russians bought over 5.7 million used passenger cars, a rise of around 17 percent from the previous year. This mobility shift reflects a broader global pattern in which used car markets respond to economic pressures, currency fluctuations, and consumer desire for affordable transport options, even amid international tensions and sanctions in neighboring markets.