Kim Jong-un 'has spent $4bn on luxury goods' since coming to power, South Korean MP says

Kim Jong-un has spent more than $4bn (£3bn) on importing luxury goods from China since he took power in North Korea in 2011, a South Korean MP has said.

Last year, the reclusive state imported at least $640m (£493m) in defiance of UN sanctions outlawing such trade over the country’s nuclear and missile testing programmes.

“Kim has bought lavish items from China and other places like a seaplane for not only his own family, and also expensive musical instruments, high-quality TVs, sedans, liquor, watches and fur as gifts for the elites who prop up his regime,” Yoon Sang-hyun, an opposition MP, said in a statement.

Purchases of electronic goods such as high-end TVs made up for more than half of the total transactions, worth $340m (£262m), followed by cars at $204m (£157m) and liqours at $35m (£27m).

The volume of luxury trade last year was down from a peak of $800m (£617m) in 2014, but was only a 3.8 per cent fall from $666m (£514m) in 2016, Mr Yoon said.

The luxury items accounted for 17.8 per cent of North Korea’s entire imports from China last year, which Mr Yoon said totalled $3.7bn (£2.8bn).

He accused China of loosening its enforcement of sanctions and criticised South Korea’s recent request for UN and US exemptions to restart inter-Korean economic cooperation.

The US has urged a strict implementation of sanctions on North Korea as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign which it has credited with bringing the impoverished country to the negotiating table.

However, there have been signs the campaign has been losing strength since North Korea suspended its nuclear and missile tests and its leader said it would take steps towards denuclearisation.

China and Russia have also called for relaxed sanctions.

“With the growing loophole, Kim would be able to near his goal of neutralising sanctions soon without giving up the nuclear weapons,” Mr Yoon said.

Last week, Singapore charged one of its citizens, a North Korean and three companies with supplying prohibited luxury items to North Korea.

The charges involve hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of perfumes, wines and watches, according to court documents seen by Reuters.