Driving Toyota Lexus LX570 Personally to Find
Items Violating UN Sanctions on North Korea... Smuggling Attempt
North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un personally visited the flood damage site in Daecheong-ri, Eunp'a County, Hwanghaebuk-do, and instructed to release the strategically stockpiled materials and food reserved for wartime or emergencies to support the flood victims, according to a report by Korean Central TV on the 7th. It appears that Chairman Kim sat in the driver's seat and drove some distance himself to inspect the flood damage site. It has been confirmed that Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, personally drove a Japanese-made Lexus vehicle to visit flood damage sites in Hwanghae Province. This stands out even more in contrast to the North Korean authorities' repeated anti-Japanese messages this year through domestic and international media.
On the 7th, North Korea's state-run media, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported, "Comrade Kim Jong-un inspected the flood damage situation on-site in the Daechong-ri area of Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province."
◆ Kim Jong-un's Unusual Visit to Flood Site Riding a Toyota Lexus SUV
Photos from the inspection in Daechong-ri, Unpa County, North Hwanghae Province, broadcast by Korean Central Television on the same day, captured Chairman Kim sitting in the driver's seat of a black sport utility vehicle (SUV) covered in mud.
The vehicle, visually estimated to be a Toyota Lexus LX570 model, has appeared occasionally at external events such as the September 2018 inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang and the December opening ceremony of the Yangdok Hot Springs Cultural Resort last year.
The use of a Lexus SUV for this inspection seems intended for off-road driving due to heavy rainfall and poor road conditions in North Korea.
Kim Jong-un's official vehicles are known to include two Mercedes-Maybach S600 sedans and a Lexus LX570 SUV. United Nations sanctions classify luxury limousines as luxury goods and prohibit their export to North Korea; these vehicles are presumed to have been smuggled in to evade sanctions.
According to the annual report of the expert panel under the UN Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee published in May, Kim's Lexus LX570 is a model produced after August 2017, equipped with a 5.7-liter four-wheel-drive engine.
◆ North Korean Media Criticizes Japan as "Island Barbarian... Island Parasite" at Every Opportunity
Kim Jong-un's fondness for Lexus is intriguing in light of North Korea's anti-Japanese propaganda.
In July, KCNA criticized Japan's plan to develop missile detection satellite technology to expand its influence in outer space, saying, "Are they making space a theater of war?" and "We absolutely cannot tolerate their frantic efforts to militarize space and become a military power."
In June, North Korea commented on Defense Minister Taro Kono's release of a photo of his office with a Korean Peninsula map, condemning it as "clear evidence of the island people's extreme ambition for re-invasion."
In September last year, North Korea referred to Japan's plan to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, stating, "Only the island barbarians, Japan, threaten the survival of other countries and peoples by recklessly dumping nuclear waste."
In 2018, the Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun published a special editorial titled "The Ridiculous Behavior of Island Parasites" on the March 1st Movement anniversary, criticizing Japan as "island parasites clinging to the United States... pitiful creatures begging with the backing of the U.S., yet arrogantly lecturing others with their shabby bad habits."
◆ Kim Jong-un Inspects Flood Site and Orders "Supply My Share of Reserve Grain and Materials"
Meanwhile, after personally visiting the flood sites in North Hwanghae Province over two days, Kim Jong-un ordered the release of strategic materials and food stockpiled for wartime or emergency use to support flood victims.
According to reports, continuous heavy rain caused embankments to collapse in Unpa County, flooding about 730 single-family homes and approximately 600 pyeong (1 pyeong = 3,000 square feet) of rice paddies, with 179 homes collapsing. After visiting the site, Kim issued measures to use even the strategic materials allocated as his share to assist flood victims.
The news agency stated, "Instructions were given to relevant sectors to submit documents for releasing the State Affairs Commission Chairman's reserve grain to supply households in the affected areas," and "It is important to establish measures to secure construction materials, including cement, necessary for recovery work, and instructions were given to release and guarantee the Chairman's strategic reserve materials according to demand."
Kim Jong-un's direct visit to the flood-affected area and the use of reserve supplies, essentially for wartime preparedness, are interpreted as moves to highlight his image as a leader who cares for people's livelihoods. Additionally, it reflects an intention to soothe public sentiment suffering from the triple hardships of accumulated sanctions, COVID-19, and floods.
This is the second time Kim Jong-un has personally visited flood sites since taking power. Previously, he inspected flood recovery sites in Nason City, North Hamgyong Province, in 2015.
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