The other day I came across this video showing a traffic policewoman at a junction in Pyongyang. Lots of used Japanese cars, 4x4s, vans and minibuses drive past, along with some Mercedes and what I take to be a Dacia 1300 or 1310. (North Korea had close ties to Romania during the Ceaucescu era.)

Funnily enough, just two days ago I've started frantically reading up on everything I could find about North Korea, and especially their cars of course...

I have even discovered this wonderful infomercial for the locally-made Pyonghwa Hwipharam (don't quote me on this spelling), which turns out to be the old Fiat Siena:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmhTKDqrEDo

As concerns the video, there seems to be a lot of traffic there for a country that has some 25 thousand cars in total! We must have seen a fair share of them (though I think some passed at least twice...) Reportedly, smuggling in used Japanese cars is one of the more lucrative occupations in North Korea.

So will you be buying a copy of Automobiles Made in North Korea then?

Pyonghwa, by the way, is part-owned by the Unification Church (the Moonies). I think that Pyonghwa imports Fiat CKD kits from Mekong Auto in Vietnam, which also makes the Siena and is also connected to the Unification Church. as well. Pyonghwa also assembles Chinese cars, vans, 4x4s and pick-ups. The company's output is reportedly pretty low, because of the absolutely tiny market for new cars in North Korea. (Yes, I've been, um, researching North Korean cars too.)

By the way, Dear Leader Kim Jong Il's brother Kim Pyong Il is the North Korean ambassador to Poland.

I knew about the Unification Church thing, but the embassy thing is new to me - actually, I didn't know they still have an embassy in Warsaw. I wonder if the same holds true for our embassy in Pyongyang (for some time our diplomats in DPRK served as liaisons between USA and other Western Countries and the regime because of our unique position).

As concerns the book - I'd love to, but I guess working out the payment would be a pain. I shall see in due course.

Mercedes-Benz has done lots of business with the North Koreans since the late 1970s, resulting in a lot of sedans, particularly W140s, serving as the car of choice for the elite. In fact, the North Koreans were so enamored with the Mercedes-Benz 190 that they actually built a copies of it called the Kaengsaeng 88, Paektusan and Pyongyang 410 (or 4.10). These were built in 1988 in very small numbers, and according to defectors, lacked a heater, air conditioner, and had mismatched windows. You can find a picture of it here:

http://www.leblogauto.com/2007/07/mercedes-made-in-north-korea.html

I know this picture very well, but I wonder if you know of any other one?

I've found another video showing cars in North Korea. It's a North Korean news report of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun visiting Pyongyang in October last year. He rides in an open-top Mercedes limousine (W100 I think) with Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the North Korean Supreme People's Assembly. The motorcade contains several other Benzes along with two more unusual open-top cars, a ZiL 117 (I think) and a ZiS 110 (which perhaps was Kim Il Sung's parade car once upon a time).

http://www.panoramio.com/photo/1328509
Check out this picture taken in Pyongyang - There's a Dodge Ram in it!