Posted on 06/03/2011 11:47:32 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Italy unlaces N.Korea attempt to smuggle tap shoes
Wed Jun 1, 2011 2:44pm GMT
By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Italy foiled an attempt by North Korea to import tap-dancing shoes in breach of a U.N. ban on the sale of luxury goods to Pyongyang, according to a U.N. report on the enforcement of sanctions against the North.
The report said that many banned goods reached North Korea via an unnamed trans-shipment hub, which Western U.N. envoys speaking on condition of anonymity said was located in China.
Although it has been leaked to the media, China has objected to the official publication of the U.N. expert panel's report, Security Council diplomats said.
"In December 2010, a shipment of high-quality tap-dancing shoes was blocked at Orio al Serio Airport (Milan)," said the report by the so-called U.N. Panel of Experts, which monitors compliance with U.N. sanctions against North Korea.
A U.N. diplomat told Reuters on Tuesday that the seized shipment involved several dozen pairs of tap-dancing shoes. He said that it was not clear how the tap shoes might fit into North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's lavish lifestyle, which includes grandiose stage performances by North Korean performers.
(Excerpt) Read more at af.reuters.com ...
Whew. We dodged a bullet on that one. Imagine the horror that could have been unleashed.
The Italians really know how to hurt a guy.
I guess Chinese made tap shoes are too inferior for Kim Jung-il
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