President Bush is attempting to impose targeted trade sanctions against North Korea to deprive Kim Jong Il of the luxury items he enjoys. One of the items on the list: Apple’s iPod. According to Yahoo! News, the items on the sanction list are products that North Korea’s leader personally covets, or gives as presents to the loyalist families that run his communist government.
Other products on the list include cognac, Rolex watches, cigarettes, artwork, plasma televisions, expensive cars, Harley Davidson motorcycles, and Jet Skis.
Former senior Commerce Department official under President Bill Clinton, William Reinsch, expects most governments will support the new sanctions. But preventing underground product shipments into North Korea will be very difficult. He said “The problem is there has always been and will always be this group of people who work at getting these goods illegally.”
iPods and other small electronic devices are “untraceable and available all over the place,” he added.
Regardless of the impact the sanctions have on North Korea, it looks like the iPod is now one of President Bush’s new politcal weapons.
Thanks to TMO reader George Slusher for the heads up.