Sanctions to Decimate North Korea’s Car Makers
In other news, North Korea has automakers
Image: Pyeonghwa Motors
It has been a long time since it has been a good thing to live in North Korea. This is especially true if you are a car lover, as the Hermit Kingdom’s car manufacturing industry is mostly geared toward military production, leaving only about a million vehicles on the road in a country with a population of about 30 million. A little bit ago, vehicle production was on the rise, by about 10,000 vehicles per year.
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That is, until North Korea detonated its latest nuclear device, and then launched a rocket which the US and its allies claimed used ballistic missile technology (although North Korea claimed the latter was a satellite launch). In response, even North Korea’s closest ally China turned against it, as the UN Security Council voted unanimously to impose new, wide-reaching sanctions against the cloistered nation, banning a wide range of goods, including luxury goods, all weapons, and any item that could directly contribute to North Korea’s military operations.
That means no more auto parts from China for North Korea’s auto industry. For an industry that relies on imports for 90% of its parts, this is a death sentence. North Korea will have to act very quickly if it wants to save its carmakers, including the largest domestic auto producer, Pyeonghwa Motors, which produces a nine-car range of vehicles (four sedans, three SUVs, a pickup truck, and a van), one of which looks suspiciously like a BMW and one of which looks incredibly close to a Mercedes.
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Seriously.
Image: Pyeonghwa Motors
Odds are, though, that this isn’t going to happen. The country isn’t really built for civilian car ownership, and so the North Korean government will probably only try to save those automakers that create vehicles for the military.
News Sources: Reuters, Automotive News, Business Insider, Jalopnik, Pyeonghwa Motors
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