The 1,000 Volvos North Korea Took From Sweden And Never Paid For
In the 1970s, North Korea ordered around 1,000 Volvo 144 sedans from Sweden. The cars arrived, were used for decades, but the bill was never paid.
I had previously written about a couple of strange stories connected to South Korea. ( What Do South Korean Young People Think About The Falling Birth Rate? >> ) and ( South Korea’s Lesser-Known Dark Side >> ) This time, let’s move to the north of the same peninsula, because one of the most absurd unpaid bills in modern history belongs to North Korea.
When people think of North Korea, what usually comes to mind is missile tests, a closed regime, strange propaganda films, and a state system cut off from the rest of the world. But one of the most absurd events in the country’s history was neither a military move nor a political crisis. At the center of this story were around 1,000 Volvo 144 sedans.
In the early 1970s, North Korea was trying to build economic relations with the Western world. At the time, the Pyongyang government believed that the country could modernize by importing technology, industrial equipment, and vehicles from abroad. Sweden also saw North Korea as a potential market. As diplomatic and commercial contacts between the two countries increased, a large order package was prepared from Swedish companies for North Korea. The most famous part of this package was Volvo’s 144 model sedan cars.
The Cars Went, The Money Never Came
Around 1974, approximately 1,000 Volvo 144s were sent from Sweden to North Korea. These vehicles were not a small sale on their own; they were part of a broader trade package involving several Swedish companies. Different sources give different figures for the total value of the package. Some reports mention around 73 million dollars, while others describe the wider trade package as being worth 131 million dollars.
Under normal circumstances, the deal was very simple: the cars would be delivered, and North Korea would make the payment. But after receiving the cars, North Korea did not pay. The Volvos entered the country, began appearing on the streets of Pyongyang, and were even seen being used as taxis for years. But the money Sweden was waiting for never arrived.
In a way, the whole thing turned into something like: “You send us the cars, and we will handle the payment later.” But that “later” never came.
Volvo Was Not Actually Left Empty-Handed
The part of this story usually told as “Volvo was scammed” is a little incomplete. Yes, North Korea did not pay for the cars. But Volvo’s sale was insured through Sweden’s export credit system. When North Korea failed to pay, Sweden’s export credit agency, EKN, stepped in. So from Volvo’s point of view, the file was closed, but the debt became a receivable of Sweden’s state-backed export credit institution.
That is why this was not just a car sale. It turned into a strange diplomatic debt issue that lasted for years. Sweden did not erase the debt. North Korea did not pay. As the years passed, the debt grew through interest and exchange rate calculations.
They Drove Around Pyongyang For Years
The funniest part of this story is that the cars were genuinely used. Volvo 144s were seen on North Korean streets for a long time. Some were used in Pyongyang, while others worked as taxis in different cities. In fact, the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang shared a photo in 2016 of a Volvo 144 still on the road, reminding people that these vehicles were still running. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, one Volvo was reportedly used as a taxi in Chongjin and had almost half a million kilometers on it.
So North Korea did not simply take the cars and leave them in storage. These vehicles became part of everyday life in the country for years. But on the payment side, nothing changed.
How Much Is The Debt Today?
At this point, giving a precise figure is difficult, because different sources give different amounts depending on the year and exchange rate calculations. In 2017, VOA reported, based on Sweden’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs, that the debt had reached around 328 million dollars with interest. In 2023, Korea JoongAng Daily, citing Sweden’s export credit agency, reported the debt as 2.9 billion Swedish kronor, which was around 267 million dollars at the time.
That is why the safest way to put it is this: North Korea’s Volvo debt has turned into a matter worth hundreds of millions of dollars with interest. The exact number changes depending on the year, exchange rate, and calculation method.
Sweden Still Reminds Them
Sweden has not forgotten this debt. According to reports, EKN continues to send regular payment reminders to North Korea. Newsweek and VOA reported that Sweden has reminded North Korea about this debt at regular intervals. But no meaningful payment has come from North Korea.
This makes the story even more absurd. Because this is not just an unpaid invoice. It is a case where one state received cars from another state, failed to pay for them for decades, and the other side still keeps the debt in its diplomatic records.
North Korea’s Version Of “We’ll Pay Later”
North Korea’s story of the 1,000 Volvos is one of the strangest examples of the country’s relationship with the outside world. On one side, there was a regime that wanted modern cars and industrial products from the West. On the other side, there was Sweden, which delivered those products and never received the money.
Today, this story is often described online as “one of the biggest car thefts in history.” That phrase is a little sensational, but it captures the spirit of the event well. Because in the end, North Korea received around 1,000 Volvos, used them for years, but never paid.
In short, the matter is simple: North Korea took the cars, used them for years, and Sweden is still waiting for the money. Whether justice for Volvo will ever arrive is unknown. But this story continues to live on as one of the most absurd diplomatic debt files in North Korean history.