According to an investigation conducted by NBC New York, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has racked up a bill of more than $156,000 for roughly 1,300 unpaid parking tickets.
"It's not true, it is false," Jong, a secretary at Pyongyang's United Nations mission, said. "Whenever we have a ticket, we pay… if we have three tickets the city does not allow us to renew their permission."
Turns out the three-ticket rule dates back to 2002, when a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was issued between New York City and the US State Department. Per the MOU, the city holds the right to revoke a diplomatic parking decal if the vehicle attached to it fails to pay three or more citations.
However, the majority of North Korea's parking tickets were handed out prior to the 2002 MOU. Many of them date back to the 1990s, the network reported.
North Korea wasn't the only one ditching out on the parking meter, though. Syria, Iran, Russia and China also owe a little something something.
Since the 2002 agreement was made, foreign nations have racked up just under $700,000 in parking fines, compared to millions before the MOU, the Department of Finance told NBC 4.
