A Pyongyang department store opened by an influential but mysterious Korean-Japanese woman continues to sell expensive foreign luxury goods to wealthy North Koreans despite what state media calls the country’s ongoing economic “hardships,” exclusive images obtained by NK Pro show. 

Then 61-year-old Osaka resident Rim Mi Yong opened the department store named after her in west Pyongyang’s Songnae-dong neighborhood in 2009, and the retailer has expanded in recent years with the construction of new annexes and an entire additional floor. 

NK Pro revealed the first extensive details about the Rim Mi Yong Aeguk (Patriotic