North Korean wholesaler of South Korean electronics under investigation
Sources in North Korea report that a wholesaler who sold a large quantity of electronic goods made by South Korea’s Samsung in Chongjin was caught by the North Korean authorities and is currently being investigated by the provincial Ministry of State Security.
“The wholesaler brought in South Korean computers and televisions from a Chinese trader and handed them over to an electronics merchant who them sold directly to residents. He was taken to Chongjin City’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) and is being interrogated,” a source in North Hamgyong Province told Daily NK.
The source added that the wholesaler had been selling electrical goods in Chongjin’s Sunam Market but since last year, he began to bring in Samsung laptops and TVs into North Korea for sale. It is illegal to sell South Korean products in North Korea, but most vendors will simply remove or obscure the logos and sell them at higher prices.
The wholesaler was able to receive the products from a Chinese trader through long-term efforts.
In order to avoid being caught, he carefully covered the Samsung logos and sold them quickly by alluding to the fact that he had “the best products.”
However in June, when Group 109 (a North Korean agency created specifically to crackdown on the viewing and distribution of South Korean and foreign videos) was cracking down on illegal recordings, they discovered high quality electrical goods with their logos covered and after further investigation, learned that numerous laptops manufactured by Samsung had been circulated. ......
[Source: Daily NK]
