FUKUOKA, Japan >> Papers were have been filed with a prosecutors office against a 19-year-old man for allegedly importing a North Korean beer to Japan, police said.

The Fukuoka and Toyama prefectural police headquarters filed the complaint against the unemployed suspect a couple of weeks ago with the Fukuoka District Public Prosecutors Office. He is suspected of violating the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law.

The police said the Fukuoka man confessed to the crime, saying, “I thought (North Korean beer) could be sold at a high price.”

The suspect allegedly concealed a bottle of Taedonggang beer, produced in North Korea, in a carry-on bag in October before boarding a flight for Saga Airport from Shanghai Airport.

He bought the beer in Shanghai for about 300 yen ($2.75) and then resold it through an online auction for about 16,000 yen ($148).

The sale was discovered by Toyama police. They confirmed that since last year, the suspect has repeatedly auctioned North Korean beer and other grocery items online.

Since 2009, Japan has banned all imports and exports of goods made in or shipped from North Korea as part of economic sanctions against Pyongyang for repeatedly conducting nuclear and missile tests.