Kim Jong-un wore a banned £10,000 Portofino watch while overseeing missile test in defiance of sanctions against his North Korean regime
- Kim Jong-Un was wearing the IWC Portofino Automatic at a recent missile test
- The United Nations has banned luxury goods from entering North Korea
- The ban was imposed as a punishment for the state’s nuclear weapons tests
Kim Jong-un has been photographed in a watch costing a staggering £10,000 in another brazen defiance of sanctions against his regime.
The UN banned luxury goods from entering North Korea to punish the rogue state for its nuclear weapons tests, with luxury watches among the specific items named.
But now watch specialists in neighbouring South Korea have identified a rare unisex watch on the dictator’s wrist costing an eye-watering £10,000.
It comes as ordinary North Koreans face deepening food shortages, reportedly brought on by the worst drought in more than 35 years.
Watch specialists have identified a rare unisex watch on the dictator’s wrist costing an eye-watering £10,000
While the missile test took place last month, the watch’s identity as a luxury good was only just revealed this week
An expert identified the watch on Kim Jong-un’s wrist as an IWC Portofino Automatic (similar to the one above) that retails for around £10,000. He was said to be wearing it during a missile test on July 25, 2019
Watch specialist Kim Chang-kyu told a Korean newspaper that the North Korean leader appeared to be sporting an IWC Portofino Automatic while watching the test of a ‘new-type tactical guided weapon’ on July 25.
While the missile test took place last month, the watch’s identity as a luxury good was only just revealed this week.
The revelation comes only days after photographs emerged of the Daesong Department Store in Pyongyang, which seemed to be selling brands like Rolex, Tissot and Omega, among others.
Kim Chang-kyu said: ‘The bezel ratio and appearance of the lug on Kim Jong-un’s watch matches a Portofino Automatic. The location of the date window and shape of the logo are also identical.’
The watch retails for 11,700 Swiss francs (£10,000) or £9,700 in Britain.
Kim Jong-un is known to favour Swiss luxury goods, having been educated as a boy at schools in Gümligen and Köniz in Switzerland.
The leader was watching a missile test on July 25. Weeks later a watch expert identified the watch on his wrist as a banned, luxury item
The revelation of the leader acting in defiance of sanctions against his regime comes as ordinary North Koreans face deepening food shortages, reportedly brought on by the worst drought in more than 35 years
A report this year from the Washington DC-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies found that North Korea still has ‘sophisticated procurement capabilities’ to satisfy its demand for luxuries.
The report stated: ‘The Kim regime continues to maintain sophisticated procurement capabilities through U.S.-allied countries despite sanctions.
‘Our report uses network and supply chain analysis to investigate previously unreported shipments to North Korea of more than 800 luxury vehicles. ‘
[These include] two armored Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard vehicles shipped in October 2018 valued at more than $500,000 (£410,000) each.
‘We show that the vehicles originated in Germany, the Netherlands, and Thailand before being transshipped through China, Japan, South Korea, and the Russian Far East.’