0174 Noko Jeans

Kim Jong Il. Totalitarian dictator AND fashionista? Possibly. In an entrepreneurial breakthrough, a Swedish firm has contracted with a textile manufacturer in North Korea to produce designer jeans that will carry the label “Made in North Korea.” It took two years navigating the communist bureaucratic maze without a GPS, I might add, to put the deal together. Few Western countries maintain trade or diplomatic relations with North Korea. In fact, there are only seven embassies in Pyongyang, Sweden’s among them. But the Swedes persisted and the first pairs of $215 Noko jeans went on sale December 4th. In Stockholm and on-line but not in Pyongyang. According to the strict socialist dress code, jeans are forbidden. #hacker #NorthKorea #sweden #ceas