(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The Asahi Shimbun, one of the leading newspapers in Japan, reported yesterday that North Korea had included a beverage similar to cola in a catalogue that the country publishes to introduce its export products to visitors to North Korea and foreign buyers.
The catalogue published by the North Korean Committee for the Promotion of International Trade in April featured a “carbonated cocoa drink” that was similar in product design and content to the globally renowned soft drink Coca Cola.
Asahi stated that although the packaging and label of the North Korean product is identical to that of Coca Cola’s, its taste, according to experts who have visited North Korea, is completely different from the popular American soft drink.
Over 900 beverages, health supplements and electronics products are featured in the catalogue, the title of which translates to “Choson Products.”
Its publisher, the North Korean Committee for the Promotion of International Trade, is known to sell these products to 31 countries including China and Russia.
The Asahi Shimbun also reported that the recent publication of the catalogue was sophisticated in design, with most of the product photos in color instead of the black and white pictures that were featured in previous editions.
H. S. Seo (hsseo@koreabizwire.com)
