Interesting story, a store in Stockholm, Sweden named PUB decided it would not be the flagship store for a clothing brand named Noko Jeans.  The retailer decided it did not want to be associated with the political issues that came along with the brand of jeans being manufactured in North Korea. Noko Jeans was conceptualized by three, twenty something, Swedish advertising executives, whose goal was to open up trade between the west and the isolated "Hermit Country", known as North Korea.

The jeans come only in black because not only jeans but "blue" ones in particular have long been banned in North Korea, due to their association with U.S. Imperialism. In 2005, women were urged to stop wearing pants because Western clothing took away from the regimes revolutionary pride.

All of Noko Jeans are manufactured in North Korean capital, Pyongyang, cost $220 and all the zippers and buttons are supplied from other countries, I'm curious to know which ones.

The Noko website has the first part of a video diary, "Maneuvers in the Dark", telling the story of their journey. It chronicles how the threesome first contacted North Korea in 2007, how it took countless exchanges before they got permission to enter the country, and when they knew their effort was coming to fruition. You can tell that English is not their first language based on the accent and the pronunciation of some words, but you get the gist. Also, some of the money the company makes will go back to North Korea and that purchasers of the jeans will also have a say in where else some of the money will go.

Even though Noko Jeans doesn't have a physical location to sell their jeans, they claim they have another source lined up for their museum style, flagship store, after being dumped by PUB. I'm sure they do, since this story has gone international, hitting every major news source!

Do you think Noko Jeans effort to break down the barrier between North Korea and the West is a good thing or they just supporting a known dictatorship? Please post your comments below.