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Last North Korean Restaurant in Vietnam Shuts Down Amid COVID Fallout

Daniel Kim Views  

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The scene of a Koryo restaurant in Hanoi, Vietnam, closed on the 4th. With the withdrawal of the last North Korean restaurant, the Koryo restaurant, there are no longer any North Korean restaurants left in Vietnam/Hanoi correspondent Jung Ri Na

The last North Korean restaurant in Vietnam has closed its doors and withdrawn.

According to the results of a survey by Asia Today on the 11th, the Koryo Restaurant, located in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, withdrew after the last business on the 3rd. The fixtures inside the Koryo restaurant have been removed, and the door is firmly closed. The entire building used by the restaurant is now up for rent.

A source familiar with the restaurant situation told this paper, “The waitstaff have either returned to North Korea or are planning to return,” and “Before being sent out from Vietnam, they voluntarily put together and left.” Another source said, “Some employees seemed glad to return since they were on the shelf due to staying in Vietnam longer than usual, which the COVID-19 border closure caused.”

North Korea, which had closed its borders as part of COVID-19 prevention, officially opened its borders last August after the situation stabilized. In Vietnam, some diplomats and students have returned to North Korea via China since the end of last year.

The withdrawal of the Koryo restaurant also took the form of a voluntary withdrawal, allowing the Vietnamese government to save face with North Korea directly and maintain its reputation with the international community, including South Korea and the United States. Vietnam kept a friendly cooperative relationship with North Korea, a fellow socialist country, beyond the government level.

With the withdrawal of the Koryo restaurant, no North Korean restaurants left in Vietnam. Previously, in 2016 and 2017, the Pyongyang and Koryo Restaurants in Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam closed their doors and withdrew due to poor business performance.

Since the UN Security Council (UNSC) asked UN member states to send North Korean workers in their countries back to their home countries by December 22, 2019, to cut off funds for North Korea’s nuclear and missile development at the end of 2017, the fate of the Pyongyang and Koryo Restaurant that remained in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, was mentioned.

Vietnam revealed in its final compliance report on the repatriation of North Korean workers submitted to the UNSC in April 2020 that there were 31 North Korean workers left in the country, stating, “Due to North Korea’s COVID-19 response, the border has been closed, and they are unable to return.”

Afterward, Pyongyang closed its doors and withdrew in May 2020, but the Koryo restaurant continued to do business and even introduced a new menu last year. However, unlike Daedonggang beer, which was relatively easy to supply because it was produced in China, they couldn’t procure Pyongyang Soju. Instead, they sold Korean soju, which made a mockery of them. This restaurant also was suspected of selling advanced software such as facial recognition technology.

The overseas restaurant business of North Korea, which started in the 1980s, is known as a typical foreign currency earning method. It is estimated that around 2016, when North Korea’s overseas restaurant business peaked, at least $40 million to a maximum of $100 million was sent to the national budget from 130 North Korean restaurants worldwide.

However, since the UN Security Council sanctioned North Korea in 2017, most overseas restaurants have closed, except in China and Russia. In 2019, Cambodia also closed six North Korean restaurants following UN sanctions.

However, North Korean restaurants thrive in places like Vientiane and Bang Vieng in Laos. A Korean resident in Laos told this paper on the 11th, “Despite the ridiculously high price compared to the local cost of living, it is mainly visited by Korean tourists,” and ”

Sometimes, a North Korean restaurant known for its performances is bustling with Korean tourists. Korean tourists are keeping them alive.” These restaurants are strongly suspected of being used as money laundering outlets. Still, sanctioning them appears challenging because they use the names of locals in restaurant operations and other activities.

Daniel Kim
content@viewusglobal.com

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