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U.S. may ban iPod sales to North Korea

updated 06:10 pm EST, Wed November 29, 2006

iPods, North Korea


The U.S. government is proposing trade sanctions against North Korea that would forbid the sale of iPods, plasma televisions, cigarettes, and other luxury goods to that country in an effort to personally aggravate North Korean leader Kim Jong II, according to one report. The move would mark the first time the U.S. government has imposed sanctions on a foreign country to specifically upset that country's leader, according to the Associated Press. The ban specifically targets items believed to be favored by Jong or that are presented by him to loyalist families who run the communist government in North Korea. U.S. officials acknowledged, however, that enforcing the sanctions on black-market trading would be difficult.


by MacNN Staff

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  1. unity@mac.com

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2005

    0
    11/29, 06:54pm | report spam | Reply |

    And...

    And why are we, umm sorry, the US GOVERNMENT doing this?

  1. sluxx

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2002

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    11/29, 07:49pm | report spam | Reply |

    Your nukes or your iPods!

    If iPods are outlawed, only outlaws will have iPods.

  1. suhail

    Senior User

    Joined: Nov 1999

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    11/29, 09:01pm | report spam | Reply |

    whatever…

    most of our goods are made in the far-east anyways, this is a joke.

  1. zbug

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Sep 2006

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    11/29, 11:51pm | report spam | Reply |

    he he

    And... And why are we, umm sorry, the US GOVERNMENT doing this?

    Nuclear )

  1. vasic

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2005

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    11/30, 12:21am | report spam | Reply |

    It's standard procedure

    The only leverage international community has against rogue nations is a trade embargo. While mostly ineffective, it still hurts, creates hassle for the ruling elite and essentially tells them "you need to stop what you're doing if you want to play with the rest of the world". This may seem ridiculous ('a joke', to quote Suhail), but in diplomatic process, it has its time and place. It's how the world works. This is not supposed to cut of the iPod supply line to PyongYang; embargoes such as this one are practically unenforceable. It is diplomatically first step in escalating measures of pressure. There are plenty of other tools left in the box, the last one being, of course, the ever-popular military intervention...

  1. doemel

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2006

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    11/30, 05:10am | report spam | Reply |

    LOL

    It's not like the peopl in NK have the money to buy iPods anyways....

    In other news, recent surveys indicate that the Zune is rapidly gaining market share in NK...

  1. CaptainHaddock

    Grizzled Veteran

    Joined: Apr 2004

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    11/30, 08:34am | report spam | Reply |

    standard idiocy

    Trade embargoes just hurt regular people; North Koreans have few enough freedoms already, and the US trying to deny them more is moronic.

    Even so, what genius in the state department thought banning luxury good exports to NK would accomplish anything? It's not like anyone there buys such items. There's no Apple Store in downtown Pyongyang. The only market there *is* the black market, so the ban will make no difference. Dear Leader and his henchmen will just buy their iPods through Chinese mail-order or whatever.

  1. debohun

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Feb 1999

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    11/30, 09:17am | report spam | Reply |

    Figures

    We can't even keep the electricity on in downtown Baghdad, and now we want to make the world further safe for democracy by banning iPods in North Korea? When are Americans going to wake up and realize the boys in Washington are just mucking things up.

  1. testudo

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Aug 2001

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    11/30, 01:00pm | report spam | Reply |

    Re: standard idiocy

    First, I thought there already was a trade embargo in NK. But that's something else. As for this comment:

    Even so, what genius in the state department thought banning luxury good exports to NK would accomplish anything? It's not like anyone there buys such items. There's no Apple Store in downtown Pyongyang. The only market there *is* the black market, so the ban will make no difference. Dear Leader and his henchmen will just buy their iPods through Chinese mail-order or whatever.

    If you read the articles on the matter, you'd know that there is ONE person who's got a really good golf game and loves his luxuries. That's the big kahoona himself, the glorious leader Kil Jong Il. And he's the one they're trying to cause heartache to.

    Oh, and its not about iPods per se, we're talking boats, planes, cars, REAL luxury items.

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