|
Coming soon to a store near you:
N. Korean 'Pyongyang Soju'
|
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
SEOUL — American consumers may soon be able to taste North Korea-made liquor, according to a newspaper report here.
The first-ever shipment of soju — a traditional Korean rice liquor — left last month for the United States despite Washington's trade restrictions with the communist state, according to the Hankook Ilbo newspaper.
The 2,520 boxes containing 60,000 bottles of “Pyongyang Soju” with an alcohol content of 23 percent are expected to arrive in the United States later this month and could be available in American stores next month, the newspaper said.
"If the customs procedures go as scheduled, the liquor will be sold at U.S. stores, marketplaces and restaurants as early as late this month or early next month," said Steve Park, a New York-based South Korean-American businessman who runs Korea Pyongyang Trading USA.
"The North Korean government is pretty hyped about having its products exported to the United States through formal customs process," he was quoted as saying, adding he secured U.S. approval last July, ahead of the North's nuclear test in October.
Trade between North Korea and the United Sates is strictly restricted under Washington’s sanctions against Pyongyang, which is on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.
Any significant economic exchanges with North Korea are barred under the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act. Imports need approval from the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. Alcohol importation also requires authorization from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
"I think this trade will serve as a good opportunity to improve relations between Pyongyang and Washington in the future," Park said.
Soju, popular in both South and North Korea, is generally distilled from rice combined with other ingredients such as sweet potatoes, wheat or barley. In South Korea sales of soju are widely considered an unofficial gauge of the economy because of the liquor's cheap price and popularity.
Copyright © 2007 East West
Services, Inc.
|
