N.Korea Boasts of Opulent Consumer Fair

The North Korean regime is holding a consumer fair in a swish Pyongyang mall featuring "over 1.9 million goods of 2,000 different types from across the country," the official Rodong Sinmun daily said Thursday.

The paper claimed the "high-quality consumer products are attracting tens of thousands of visitors every day."

The fair is going ahead although the World Food Programme and the South Korean government are pushing for large-scale food aid to the renegade country amid claims of a food shortage there.

"The food stalls on the ground floor alone were overflowing with 2,700 different types of food items," the paper claimed. "Cosmetics booths were filled with people choosing anti-aging products." Quoting a staffer, it said, "In the supermarket, there are tens of thousands of fresh produce, bakery items, and processed food and drink from across the country."

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un seems to have switched course since an official told the UN earlier this year that the North is suffering a food shortage even though the price of rice there had actually fallen.

Instead, Kim is now claiming that international sanctions have no effect, and propaganda outlets are awash with reports of plenty.