Pyongyang, North Korea
Dictator Kim Jong Il will have to do without iPods, Segways, and Jet Skis from now on. Those are just a few of the items the State Department listed this week as products the U.S. will no longer export to North Korea. The U.N. Security Council banned exports of luxury goods to North Korea two months ago, after the regime tested a nuclear weapon, but it didn't define what counts as a luxury. So the U.S. has made a list, which also includes Cognac, crystal, and Chanel No. 5. The ban is intended to sap the morale of Kim's inner circle. Kim rules by a system of reward and punishment, showering loyal generals and party bosses with expensive presents and shipping contrarians off to the labor camps. Most North Koreans are destitute and malnourished.
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