An “Adidas competitor from the DPRK” enters Russia
23 December 2024 08:36
The North Korean company Naegohyang has applied for registration of its trademark in Russia, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing Russian media.
A representative of the “patent law firm” mentioned in the application confirmed that it was indeed a North Korean company, but could not specify what it plans to use its trademark for in Russia.
The name Naegohyang translates from Korean as “My homeland”. In 2018, The Economist wrote that the company started out as a cigarette manufacturer, but now produces “a host of unrelated products,” including playing cards, hygiene products, sports equipment, and electronics. As noted by Fox Business, Naegohyang is “one of the most recognizable brands in North Korea”. At the same time, the North Korean newspaper Chosun Today called the company a competitor to Adidas and Puma.
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Information about Naegohyang also appeared on the Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in the DPRK. A photo of the company’s stand at the 13th Pyongyang International Fall Commodity Fair was captioned “a well-known Korean company ‘Ne Kokhyang’ – a manufacturer of sports equipment and food products.”
According to experts, Naegohyang belongs to the DPRK army. Recently, several North Korean companies have registered their trademarks in Russia. Naegohyang’s peculiarity is that it also produces alcohol.
Russians receive not only alcohol from the North Koreans – Russia could receive ballistic missiles from the DPRK that can fly more than 1000 kilometers.
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