N. Korean Liquor to Be Sold in US
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
A North Korean-made distilled liquor of soju is expected to make a foray into the U.S. market as early as this month, the Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, reported Wednesday.
The report said the ``Pyongyang Soju’’ made by a factory in the North Korean capital has been exported to the U.S. since early last month through the Korea PyongYang Trading U.S.A. owned by a Korean-American Park Il-woo, 59.
Park and his business partner visited the North last month for the shipment of about 64,800 bottles of soju in three containers, it said.
``If the customs procedures go as scheduled, the soju will be sold at U.S. stores, marketplaces and restaurants as early as late this month or early next month,’’ Park was quoted as saying.
``The North Korean government shows a positive response to this business in that its product is to be exported to the U.S., which has long been considered as a hostile country, through legal procedures,’’ he said. ``I think this will serve as a good opportunity to improve the relations between the two countries in the future.’’
On April 9, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il held a ceremony for Park when the soju shipment took place at the port of Nampo on the west coast, the report said.
Park received approval for the import of the North Korean-made soju from the U.S. government last July, according to the report.
The North Korean liquor will be first sold in the eastern states including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland with the help of Tang’s Liquor Wholesale, a liquor agency, it said.