Restaurant in Pyongyang serves Coke

한 외국인이 지난 3월 중순 유튜브에 올린 동영상 화면. 북한 평양에 있는 이탈리아 음식점인 ‘해운이탈리아특산물식당’에서 캔으로 된 코카콜라를 판매하고 있다. [연합뉴스]

A North Korean pizzeria was seen selling Coca-Cola, a symbol of American culture, a video clip showed Friday, which is unusual in the communist state that regards the United States as its enemy.

The 30-second video clip posted on YouTube in mid-March shows that an Italian restaurant in the capital city of Pyongyang serves Coca-Cola along with pizza to foreign diners.

Employees tell customers it is “Italian Coke.”

The restaurant is the third Italian pizza parlor opened in Pyongyang by Corital, a North Korea-Italy joint firm.

It is the first time the North has been confirmed to sell Coca-Cola, though there were rumors in the past.

North Korea and Cuba remain the only countries where the world’s most popular soft drink maker doesn’t do business.

There have been signs that the country’s Swiss-educated leader Kim Jong-un, believed to be in his late 20s, is interested in reform measures to improve the crumbled economy.

Earlier this year, state media showed Kim attending a concert featuring Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters and riding a roller coaster in an amusement park with foreign ambassadors.

Despite the softer image, however, the regime has repeatedly threatened war against South Korea and the United States, stepping up its hostile rhetoric in response to annual war games that began last week.

Yonhap