Zeekr electric vehicles and luxury used cars on display as sales set to launch in July

North Korean authorities launched a large-scale car exhibition in Pyongyang in June 2026 while simultaneously ordering the Ministry of Social Security to covertly investigate the financial backgrounds of prospective buyers.

A source in Pyongyang told Daily NK on Friday that a directive issued in mid-June instructed the Ministry of Social Security to provide full cooperation and conduct thorough follow-up organizational work in connection with a major vehicle exhibition and sale being led by two trade companies: one under the Cabinet’s Ministry of External Economic Affairs and one under the National Intelligence Agency. The National Intelligence Agency, formerly known as the Ministry of State Security, is North Korea’s primary internal security and counterintelligence organ, and maintains a network of trade companies that generate foreign currency revenue for the state.

According to the source, the exhibition is running from June 19 to June 28 at an automobile showroom in Hwasong district, Pyongyang. On display are new imported vehicles including the Chinese Zeekr 7X electric vehicle as well as various luxury used cars. Authorities plan to accept pre-orders through the event, with sales scheduled to begin in July.

Trade companies under the National Intelligence Agency have already moved a range of new and luxury used vehicles across the border and assembled them at the Hwasong district showroom, where staff are currently conducting performance demonstrations and taking advance reservations.

The source said the exhibition is less a conventional car show than a large-scale presale promotion, adding that behind it lies an intent to absorb foreign currency held by senior officials and donju, North Korea’s emerging class of private entrepreneurs and wealthy merchants, while drawing the previously informal vehicle distribution market under state control.

Security officers ordered to monitor buyers

In preparation for vehicle sales expected to begin in earnest in July, the Hwasong district security bureau received instructions to reinforce guard personnel around the showroom and to quietly investigate the identities and sources of funds of future car buyers.

Pyongyang’s donju community has been buzzing with excitement since the large-scale exhibition and pre-order process began, with many closely watching what they see as a lucrative new commercial venture involving significant flows of foreign currency. Authorities appear to have anticipated this reaction and instructed the Ministry of Social Security to prepare surveillance measures accordingly.

However, donju who have accumulated foreign currency through informal or illicit channels are reportedly proceeding with considerable caution, wary that the purchase process could expose questions about the origins of their funds.

Among security officers assigned to guard and monitoring duties at the exhibition, some grumbling has reportedly surfaced. The source said officers have been heard complaining that they have been reduced to serving as doormen for a state-backed money-making venture. At the same time, some are said to be quietly hoping to benefit from under-the-table payments from the event’s control duties or from buyers seeking to smooth their transactions.

Looking ahead, the source said a rapid expansion of the vehicle-related market is expected from July, with a series of parts supply and repair service centers set to open at major locations around Pyongyang centered on Hwasong district.

The source added that for ordinary North Koreans struggling to get by day to day, a car show featuring vehicles priced in the tens of thousands of dollars amounts to something entirely out of reach. The exhibition and planned sales are being received as an event exclusively for the privileged and the wealthy, the source said, deepening feelings of relative deprivation and social alienation among those who cannot participate.

Read in Korean

A Note to Readers