A curious sight has emerged in North Korea’s city of Hyesan: satellite images reveal dozens of vehicles at two locations, with 30 identical white cars conspicuously parked at a local expedition camp.
A Daily NK report last month quoted a source in Yanggang Province as saying that the majority of used cars imported into North Korea are white. Given this, the vehicles parked at the camp are believed to be recently imported used cars.
Meanwhile, most of the cars parked in the square in front of the Kim Jung-sook Arts Center appear to have been smuggled into the country with the approval of North Korean authorities.
“All of the cars and the 20 to 30-ton trucks parked in rows in front of the performing arts center were illegally imported by the government. These imported vehicles will remain parked there while their license plates and registration papers are processed, and then they will be moved out after all these procedures are completed,” said a source in Yanggang Province, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Not only cars, but also trucks have been smuggled in with the government’s blessing. According to the source, it usually takes five days after arrival for the authorities to ensure that the vehicles do not contain illegal materials.
The vehicles cannot be sold until they have been inspected and approved by both the police and the cabinet, which usually takes another ten days. This is why it takes so long for these used vehicles to enter circulation, the source explained.
Recently, however, there has been a noticeable decrease in the number of cars and trucks parked at the expedition camp and performing arts center. Apparently, trading companies and individuals have been moving vehicles out of sight after the Ministry of State Security launched an investigation into illegal vehicle smuggling.
Another factor mentioned by the source is that the North Korean authorities have stopped arranging illegal imports of used cars, which is reducing the number of vehicles being imported.