North Korean economy surrenders to foreign currency invasion (tags)
Chinese currency and U.S. dollars are being used more widely than ever in North Korea instead of the country's own money, a stark illustration of the extent to which the leadership under Kim Jong-un has lost control over the economy.
At 61, he wears a bouffant hairstyle and elevator shoes to add to his potbellied 5-foot-3-inch frame. In public, he tries to appear majestic, but in private he is said to be a man of carnal appetites, famed for his love of Italian cuisine, rock lobster, French wine and cognac. He once brought in two chefs from Milan to make pizza in Italian-made ovens, and is rumoured to be the world's single biggest buyer of his favourite cognac, Hennessy Paradis, which costs $630 a bottle.