Daimler Says It Doesn't Know How North Korea Got Its Cars

It's unclear how North Korean leader Kim Jong Un got the armored Mercedes-Maybach limousines made by Daimler that Kim used for several recent meetings with international leaders, a spokesman for the company said. In an April 29 email, a Daimler spokesman said the company has a “comprehensive export control process” to “prevent” all sales to North Korea. “We have no indication how those vehicles have come to the use of” North Korea, he said. Exports of luxury goods to North Korea are banned under United Nations sanctions, and sanctions imposed by the U.S. allow the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control to designate any person who “engages in a significant export to or import from North Korea,” according to the Treasury.

Kim has frequently been seen riding in the limousines, according to a report from the Associated Press, including at an April summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and during summits with President Donald Trump. The spokesman said Daimler has not had “business connections” with North Korea for more than 15 years and pointed to third-party sellers as an explanation. Those sales are “beyond our control and responsibility,” he said. “Without the vehicle identification numbers it is impossible to find a concrete trace.”