The Japanese headquarters of Miniso, a Uniqlo-style Japanese-Chinese low-cost retail brand, is not involved in the recent opening of the company’s first shop in North Korea, a spokesperson told NK News on Thursday.

Ma Jian, a spokesperson for Miniso in Tokyo, said its Japanese headquarters was not linked to a deal to open a store in Pyongyang.

“After consultation with a lawyer and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), we reached an early conclusion that the Japanese arm of Miniso was not engaged in it,” Ma told NK Newsover the phone. “The Japanese side did not