Kim Jong-un’s women flaunt banned designer bags worth thousands

The North Korean leader’s sister and foreign minister flaunt banned European brands, while Kim Jong-un’s rumoured ex-girlfriend makes do with a cheap Chinese variety.

Choe Son-hui, centre, is an experienced diplomat known for heavy smoking and her ability to out-drink her male colleagues. She also likes expensive handbags. Picture: Bloomberg/Getty Images/The Times

Secret police in North Korea are mobilised to stamp out decadent foreign influences such as films, television and even haircuts. But the rules do not apply to the women around Kim Jong-un, the country’s leader.

Photographs of his recent visit to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin in eastern Russia show his sister and his foreign minister carrying European handbags banned in North Korea under international sanctions.

Kim’s former girlfriend, who serves as his head of protocol is an exception, however. She has to make do with a cheap Chinese brand.

The NK News website has studied the photographs from Kim’s week in Russia and found that the women in his entourage tried to make a good impression on their hosts. Choe Son-hui, 59, his foreign minister, is an experienced diplomat well known for her heavy smoking and ability to out-drink her male colleagues.

Kim Yo-jong, clutching her expensive bag, looks on as her brother signs a visitors’ book during his visit to Russia. Picture: KCNA/Korean News Service/AP

During a visit to an aviation plant in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, she carried a vintage Zumi bag by Gucci, which sells secondhand online for £8100 ($15,520).

Kim Yo-jong, 35, the leader’s sister who is regarded as one of the most powerful people in the country, carried a Lady Dior calfskin bag that costs £5600 new. By contrast, Hyon Song-wol, 46, a former pop star rumoured to be Kim’s old flame, had a bag made in China that sells for £7.

At home, North Korean officials pursue a campaign against “decadent culture”, such as dyeing of hair and drinking parties as well as films, TV dramas and news programs, especially those from South Korea.

Senior members of the regime, however, are well known for their appetite for foreign luxuries. And no expenses were spared on Kim’s visit to Russia in his armoured train. The carriages were believed to have been decked out with rows of pink leather sofas, a karaoke room and cases of fine French wine.

The train has pulled one of Kim’s Mercedes-Benz limousines and even a helicopter for emergency escapes.

The Times