We all often see news of someone’s car theft on social media and on television. While some of them are on the agenda due to the fact that theft is done in different ways, others are on the agenda due to the expensiveness of the cars.
The biggest car theft case in history is still a problem between North Korea and Sweden today.
After the Korean War, North Korea rebuilt its economy.
After the Korean War, which started between North Korea and South Korea and then affected many regions with the participation of countries such as the USA and China, North Korea made various efforts to develop its country. North Korea, which primarily aimed to fix the country’s economy, became an industrial state over the years, but it still needed the help of other countries.
In the 1970s, Swedish automobile company Volvo entered the North Korean market.
Years after the war, the Swedish brand Volvo, unlike all its other competitors, decided to expand into the North Korean market. Because, according to Volvo, there was a lot of money to be made in North Korea’s emerging economy. For this reason, it entered this market by signing contracts immediately.
After the contracts, exactly one thousand Volvo 144 model cars were sent to North Korea.
In addition, iron casting machines were sent to assist industrialization with these contracts.
After Volvo, so many Swedish companies invested in North Korea that Sweden became the first western country to open an embassy in North Korea.
Swedish firms shipped millions of dollars of products to North Korea. For this reason, Swedish companies and politicians encouraged the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send a diplomat to North Korea, making Sweden the first western country to set up an embassy in North Korea.
Volvo sent his vehicles and machines to send, but he could not get paid for it.
North Korea last made some of the payment for Volvo brand vehicles it bought in the 1970s, in the 1980s. Despite the fact that nearly forty years have passed since then and Sweden reminds twice a year, North Korea does not pay its debt.
Moreover, he still continues to use these tools today. According to current data, North Korea’s debt reaches $322 million, ranking first among the countries with the highest debt to Sweden.
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