Photo/Illutration Pink sandals bearing a character closely resembling Hello Kitty are seen at a tent for flood victims in North Pyongan province while North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un visits there in August in a news photo carried by the Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 10. (Provided by Korea News Service)

Hello Kitty apparently has a close cousin in North Korea, with the ubiquitous character popping up on clothing in the reclusive country at its official site for products for export. 

Sanrio Co., which trademarks the globally iconic Hello Kitty, said the Tokyo company suspects the character has been used without its permission.

A former North Korean government official who had been involved in foreign trade before his defection to South Korea said North Korea is a “closed country” and lacks awareness that intellectual property rights must be protected. 

The website, Foreign Trade of the DPR Korea, introduces a wide array of the country’s products, including light industry goods to apparel to alcoholic beverages.

Among the items are children’s sweaters and undergarments with a character that closely resembles Hello Kitty.

The clothing is made by the Songyo textile factory in Pyongyang’s Songyo District, according to the website.

The Songyo textile factory, which was established in October 1963, has manufactured more than 500 kinds of clothing to date.

A photo posted on Aug. 10 by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency suggests the merchandise with the Hello Kitty look-alike is also being sold inside the country.

In the photo, a pair of children’s pink sandals with the character was seen at a tent for flood victims in North Pyongan province when leader Kim Jong Un visited there to comfort them on Aug. 8-9.

A Sanrio public relations official, when contacted by The Asahi Shimbun, said it is likely that the character has been “used without the company’s permission.”

“Neither of the clothing and sandals in question are products made based on any of our manufacturing agreements or licensing,” the official said.

The official would not elaborate on how it will address the suspected breach of intellectual property rights.

Kim Kwang Jin, a former North Korean official who is now with South Korea’s state-run Institute for National Security Strategy’s section working toward the Korean Peninsula’s unification, said Pyongyang has a department for dealing with international trademarks and patents.

Kim, who was formerly posted to North Korea’s Singaporean Embassy and has experience in international trade before his defection in 2004, said the central purpose of the department is to protect the rights of its products.

But it does not appear that North Koreans have a proper understanding of international business principles protecting against counterfeit brands.

Kim said such a situation in North Korea stems from the country remaining isolated in the global community.

“Perhaps Kim Jong Un himself is not aware that Hello Kitty is a Japanese brand,” he said.

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