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Ear to the Ground

No iPods for North Korea

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Posted on Jan 26, 2007

In response to North Korea’s nuclear test last year, the U.S. has banned the export of luxury goods including iPods, jet skis and cognac. That’ll teach ’em.

BBC:

The sanctions on luxury goods were “carefully considered and carefully targeted” to affect only the country’s elite, said US commerce department spokesman Richard Mills.

“It does not prohibit exports of food and medicine and other humanitarian goods.”

The banned list includes cognac - said to be the favourite tipple of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il - as well as jet skis, jewellery and designer clothes.

The United Nations banned the sale of luxury goods to North Korea in response to its nuclear test on 9 October, but left individual countries to define those items.

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By DinkMeeker, January 27, 2007 at 5:32 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

I think you guys are missing the point, they wantd to ban things that wouldnt affect the population that suffer “from malnutrition and even starvation as a result of food shortages”.  They wanted the ruling parties to be missing out on something they wanted, while not affecting the lower classes.  If they banned foods or medicines, that would affect people that didnt do anything wrong.  They wanted to target Kim Jong-Il and the people with the money that are doing things that are wrong.  Not getting your favorite liquor?  would that affect the people starving?  No.  But it sure would p*ss off the elite classes!

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By Quy Tran, January 27, 2007 at 11:17 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Does North Korea need those luxurious items ? We ought to be practical when encounter with this nation. Stop thinking and talking nonsense to the walls also stop acting funny in front of the whole world. The U.S. foreign policy is truly in severe hemorrhage !

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By Bluestocking, January 27, 2007 at 5:05 am #
(Unregistered commenter)

Oh, puh-leeeeeeeeeeeze...as if the majority of the North Korean population could afford these things to begin with!  Let’s remember that for at least part of the last decade, many North Koreans have been suffering from malnutrition and even starvation as a result of food shortages—based on this, does it really sound as though an embargo of luxury goods is anything more than a pointless exercise in political posturing?

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By Spinoza, January 26, 2007 at 7:52 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)

BOYCOTT ISRAELI AND AMERICAN COMPANIES THAT PROMOTE WAR OR IMPERIALISM.

BUY CITGO GAS.

FIGHT CAPITALISM/IMPERIALISM/FASCISM.

SEND FOOD AND MEDICINE TO NORTH KOREA. YOU CAN THROUGH THE UN.

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