Kim Il-sung was the leader of North Korea in the early 1970s, when Volvo sent marketing materials promoting their then-new 144 GL. Volvo was pushing to be amongst the first European companies to make their way into the North Korean market. Kim Il-sung’s regime ordered 1,000 of these new cars, and the first group arrived in North Korea in 1974. Sweden had been working so hard to create ties with North Korea amongst North Korea’s economic growth that Volvo didn’t realize until an industrial trade fair that the regime had no intention of paying for the vehicles they had purchased. After all, who wouldn’t trust the leader of a nation to pay off his debts?
The Swedish media began to cover Kim Il-sung’s debts, from the thousand Volvo cars, to over $5 million to Rolex for custom wristwatches. It was then expected that North Korea would pay off their debts in the form of copper and zinc shipments, but the market prices dropped and they were unable to pay up. With inflation factored in, North Korea still owes Sweden nearly $337 million, never having paid off their debts. To this day, the thousand green Volvos are seen on the streets of North Korea, still never having been paid for.