Kim Jong Il and the stalled car

In one of the stranger items out of North Korea lately comes this new report that Kim Jong Il has issued an edict ordering most Japanese cars in the country seized.

According to South Korea’s semi-official Yonhap news agency, Kim grew angry when he saw a Japanese car stalled and blocking the road. So he ordered Japanese cars impounded. The event occurred Jan. 1 as Kim was going to visit his father’s mausoleum.

It’s hard to believe that this is true. According to this other report, Japanese cars are the most common on North Korean roads. It used to be that elite North Koreans had access to Russian Volgas and Romanian Dacias, but those cars have fallen into disuse because owners can’t get spare parts.

Lots of ethnic Koreans who grew up in Japan then returned to North Korea seem to like driving Japanese cars. So are they simply out of luck?

Well, then it is North Korea where Kim Jong Il can act on any whim. And the number of cars, by all accounts, is tiny. Maybe this gives an opening to Chinese auto manufacturers.