Kim Jong-il is a Label Whore

A North Korean defector recently revealed that the supreme leader's tastes are anything but utilitarian. While working for the regime, his job was to tour the country's embassies and consulates overseas and buy goods for Kim. "In the early 1990s, I was ordered to buy fabric for the dear leader and went to France to buy 60 yards of high-quality, cashmere and silk fabric produced by Scabal of London," he said. "I paid US$300 per yard, which came to $18,000." 

About four yards of fabric are needed to make a suit, so the price of the cloth alone for Kim's suit amounted to $1,200. The North Korean leader apparently hands out fabric as a gift to his closest aides. "Even in terms of South Korean standards, that would be quite a luxurious product," the defector said. "But for the average North Korean it is unimaginable." 

Kim is picky about his luxury brands. According to the defector, he has a penchant for Perrier bottled water, Martell Cognac and imported menthol cigarettes.