Thread by @NoonInKorea

Taedong Beer on SK shelves? WikiLeaks Korea claims a "provisional contract" was entered into by SK firm and NK to import Taedong Beer. The contract is also said to be conditional on SK removing "5.24 Sanctions" imposed after NK's sinking of Cheonan in 2010
news.joins.com/article/227464…

The official name is "Taedonggang Beer" as Taedong refers to the river bisecting Pyongyang. This beer used to be sold in SK and used to be popular at trendy Hongdae clubs in the early 2000s when it was imported through China. It stopped after Cheonan
wikileaks-kr.org/news/articleVi…

The beer became popular when Economist writer Daniel Tudor wrote Taedonggang tastes much better than SK brands that are "boring." It's also popular in China among Korean-Chinese and is sold at 5 times the price of local beer brands, Dandong or Yalu Beer
english.chosun.com/site/data/html…

But what's real likelihood of finding Taedonggang Beer on SK store shelves? SK govt official: "This sounds like wishful thinking of a hopeful businessman: there are so many hurdles to clear internationally before we can even think about importing NK beer."
huffingtonpost.kr/entry/taedongg…

Btw some people think NK beer like Taedong has extremely high alcohol content. That's partly true when compared to light or most regular US brands (4-5%). Taedong is at 5.7%, comparable to a low-end malt liquor like King Cobra that are around 6%
ratebeer.com/beer/king-cobr…

Most SK brands are 4-5%. If you didn't know that, you'd think SK beer is "boring" while Taedong packs more punch. KJU said on 70th anniversary of WPK, "SK beer is nothing. Our beer tastes much better"

What he and Tudor meant is it makes you merry quicker

The tip above is from a bizman named Yang who says he got it from Dandong. Yang says NK economic officials are in China to work presumably on jt op/coop deals. Yang brags about having a direct line to Pak Bong-ju, NK's mouth-covering premier who acts like a poodle in front of KJU