Daimler said that it has no idea where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un got their armored limos and that they don’t have any business dealings with North Korea.
During his recent high-profile summits, including a meeting this week with Russian President Vladimir Puttin and previous summits with US President Donald Trump, Kim Jong Un used Mercedes limousines for his transportation which raised a lot of questions, the Associated Press reports.
Sales of luxury goods, including limos, is banned under U.N. sanctions on North Korea, designed to put pressure on the country to abandon their nuclear weapon program.
However, Kim Jong Un had two Mercedes limos waiting for him in Russia; a Maybach S600 Pullman Guard and a Maybach 62. The North Korean leader is believed to have used the S600 Pullman for his meetings with President Trump in Singapore last year and in Hanoi in February.
“We have absolutely no idea how those vehicles were delivered to North Korea,” Daimler spokeswoman Silke Mockert said to AP. “For Daimler, the correct export of products in conformance with the law is a fundamental principle of responsible entrepreneurial activity.”
“Our company has had no business connections with North Korea for far more than 15 years now and strictly complies with E.U. and U.S. embargoes,” Mockert added. “To prevent deliveries to North Korea and to any of its embassies worldwide, Daimler has implemented a comprehensive export control process. Sales of vehicles by third parties, especially of used vehicles, are beyond our control and responsibility.”