**NK News Report on North Korea**
**Headline:** “Kim Jong-un, who studied in Switzerland as a child, is a luxury watch enthusiast.”
A report by NK News, a North Korean specialized media outlet, highlighted that Kim Jong-un, who spent part of his childhood studying in Switzerland, has a penchant for luxury watches. According to the report, Kim Jong-un was pictured wearing luxury Western products, including a Swiss luxury watch from IWC Schaffhausen’s Portofino Automatic collection during a hug with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This watch is presumed to be the same one he has been seen with on several occasions, including his visit to Russia in September 2023.
Alongside Kim Jong-un was his sister, Kim Yo-jong, who was spotted with a large-size handbag from the French luxury brand Christian Dior, reflecting the Kim family’s taste for luxury goods.
Interestingly, Kim Ju-ae, Kim Jong-un’s daughter, has also been seen wearing luxury items like Gucci sunglasses and Swiss Tissot and Cartier watches, signifying that the Kim family’s fondness for luxury items spans generations.
Despite North Korea’s ban on importing luxury goods due to UN Security Council sanctions, it’s reported that the Kim family still manages to acquire these items through smuggling and secretive means, underscoring a stark contrast with the regime’s public denouncement of foreign luxury goods as bourgeois culture.
The report from NK News suggests that while the North Korean regime publicly cracks down on luxury goods, the ruling elite, including Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, historically indulged in such items to maintain power and loyalty. The continued influx of luxury items into North Korea challenges the effectiveness of international sanctions aimed at curbing such imports.