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¡°How come these cigarettes are so cheap? It says ¡®Pyongyang¡¯ on the pack. Hey mister, is this really the Pyongyang in North Korea?¡±
¡°Of course! These are from North Korea, and they're only W8,000 a carton. Give them a try.¡±
At a street stall in a traditional market in Dongdaemun, Seoul, tons of cigarettes from North Korea were piled up in red-cartons Wednesday afternoon. The packs are marked, ¡°Ryongsong Cigarette Company, MADE IN DPR KOREA.¡±
The cigarettes from North Korea, which cost only half as much as South Korean cigarettes, are selling like hot cakes in Seoul. They sell for W1,000 a pack, and W8,000 for cartons of 10. Considering that South Korean cigarettes cost more than W2,000 a packet after the W500 price hike at the beginning of the year, they're a good deal. Pyongyang cigarettes can be found in traditional markets and vendors in subway stations.
Mr. Kim, who started selling cigarettes from Pyongyang ten days ago, said he bought them from a wholesale dealer in mid-February, thinking they might make money after the hike in cigarette prices. He sells about 20 cartons of the cigarettes a day, he said.
The biggest buyers of Pyongyang cigarettes are the elderly, who have really felt the price hike for South Korean cigarettes. ¡°I¡¯ve tried them. They were a bit strong, but they were still okay because you can¡¯t find anything else for W1,000,¡± said 68-year-old senior citizen Mr. Lee, who bought a pack today.
According to the law, it is not illegal to sell cigarettes made in North Korea. As long as they report it to regional authorities and the Ministry of Finance and Economy, importers can sell North Korean cigarettes at anytime. However, it is against the law to sell them for under W1,700 a packet because the tax imposed on a packet of cigarette itself is W1,700. Therefore, it is illegal to sell Pyongyang cigarettes for W1,000.
An official at the Ministry of Finance and Economy who is in charge of dealing with imported cigarettes said it wasn't recommended to smoke cigarettes made in North Korea, firstly because the substances are unknown, and secondly because we do not know through what channel they were imported. Since we are unaware of how harmful North Korean cigarettes can be, it is not advisable to smoke them, the official said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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