NKorea's Kim may trade cognac for nuclear weapons

SEOUL, Oct 14 (Reuters) North Korea's decision to test a nuclear weapon may mean no more French wines and spirits for the Dear Leader or jet skis for his beloved sons.

The United Nations is moving closer to imposing sanctions on North Korea for its announced nuclear test on Monday that include steps to hit the Stalinist state's nuclear and missile programmes as well as keeping luxury goods away from its leaders.

''In a country as impoverished as North Korea, luxury goods are a key currency that keep the elite happy and reward those who win the favour of its leaders,'' said a South Korean government official, who asked not to be identified.

No one enjoys luxury goods more than paramount leader Kim Jong-il, who boasts the country's finest wine cellar with space for 10,000 bottles.

Kim has a penchant for fine food such as lobster, caviar and the most expensive cuts of sushi that he has flown in to him from Japan, according to Kim's former chef.

Kenji Fujimoto, a pseudonym, who worked as Kim's personal sushi chef in the late 1980s and 1990s at a time when more than 1 million North Koreans perished in a famine, said in a book Kim would go to extremes to satisfy his appetite.

Kim would have aides purchase caviar for him in Iran and even sent one envoy to Beijing to bring back McDonald's hamburgers, he said.

He would give gifts such as lingerie, a bidet, foreign currency and a down blanket to winners of gun-shooting matches or gambling games, Fujimoto said.

Intelligence officials in the South who are familiar with Kim's habit's said the North's leader has mellowed over the years, especially in terms of drinking. He has curtailed his intake of cognac and these days enjoys sipping wine.

The biggest gifts for top cadres are cars, with Mercedes Benz the brand of choice for the elite. Other gifts include pianos, camcorders and leather love seats.

Michael Breen, a Seoul-based consultant and author of ''Kim Jong-il: North Korea's Dear Leader'', said it might be difficult to curtail the North's purchase of luxury goods.

Breen said the North had people overseas purchase the goods and ship them back to North Korea, or bring them in personally.

Kim used to have envoys buy elaborate toys overseas for his three known sons when they were children, Breen said. Now that they have grown up, they prefer jet skis, according to Fujimoto.

Luxury brand companies for the most part have no direct dealings with the North.

Then there is the matter of what constitutes luxury goods, especially for the average North Korean who earns a dollar or two a day.

''For the average comrade on the streets of Pyongyang, a luxury good would be a hamburger, or maybe even a second bowl of rice,'' Breen said.

REUTERS DKB BD0945