[1] Noko Jeans was founded by Swedish entrepreneurs Jakob Ohlsson, Jacob Aström and Tor Rauden Källstigen.

On July 20, 2007, they were scrolling through a North Korean website and noticed a new page titled "Business".

A North Korean attempted to convince them to buy a zinc factory and make jackets instead.

The karaoke bar where the founders spent their first evening in Pyongyang served as the inspiration for the names, Kara and Oke.

The founders claimed that they had packed spools of sewing thread and large amounts of cash their bags when they went to North Korea.

[14] In 2009, when the founders returned to North Korea to see the progress, the jeans were not yet ready as the buttons were stuck somewhere between Pakistan and Pyongyang.

Each pair of jeans cost 1,500 kronor (£131) or ($220) which is more than two year’s wages for the average North Korean.