Naegohyang Joint Ventures is one of the fast-growing conglomerate-style corporations in North Korea.

In recent years, the company has gone from selling cigarettes and sportswear to many different kinds of products such as electronics, bakeries, and drinks.

Just as South Korea’s Lotte went from selling chewing gum to luxury hotels and amusement parks, Naegohyang appears to be reaching into as many areas of North Korean life as possible – even running an extravagant coffee shop in Pyongyang.

Naegohyang, which means “my homeland,” is well-known for its cigarettes: especially the 7.27s that Kim Jong Un has smoked on television and,