[I]SEOUL (AFP) - North Korean-made soju liquor is about to go on sale in the United States for the first time despite Washington’s trade restrictions with the communist state, a news report said Thursday.
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South Korea’s Hankook Ilbo newspaper, quoting the importer, said the first shipment of “Pyongyang soju” left last month.
The main ingredient of Korea’s traditional drink is rice, almost always in combination with other ingredients such as wheat, barley or sweet potatoes. It is clear-coloured and typically varies in alcohol content from 40 to about 90 proof.
US-North Korean trade is rare as Washington imposes sanctions on Pyongyang, which it lists as a state sponsor of terror. Imports need approval from the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.
But Steve Park, 59, the Korean-American importer, told Hankook he secured the office’s approval last July.
Park said a cargo ship carrying 2,520 boxes of soju, or some 60,000 bottles, left the North’s western port of Nampo for the United States on April 9.
“If the customs procedures go as scheduled, the soju will be sold at US stores, marketplaces and restaurants as early as late this month or early next month,” Park was quoted as saying.
“The North Korean government shows a positive response to this business in that its product is to be exported to the US, which has long been considered as a hostile country, through legal procedures,” he said.
“I think this will serve as a good opportunity to improve relations between the two countries in the future.”
Park, owner of a firm called Korea Pyongyang Trading USA, emigrated from South Korea to the United States in the early 1980s. He has been engaged in North Korean trade for the past 10 years.
The Korea Times said the North Korean brand would initially go on sale in the eastern US states.
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Wanna know what it tastes like?
Rubbing alcohol.
How do I know?
Because that’s what all soju tastes like.
That’s what makes it good…
EDIT: Credit to Embeosso for bringing this to my attention.