North Korea owes Sweden $70 million for 'the largest car theft in human history'

$70m - now that is an unenviable level of debt to be saddled with.

But unfortunately, that is exactly the amount North Korea owes Sweden - and it is all because of a whole lot of Volvos.

It all started in the 1970s, when North Korea was starting to emerge as an attractive site for foreign aid and investment.

Swedish businesses started expanding into the country with various motives, and even exported 1,000 Volvo cars.

According to NPR, about $70 million worth of goods was shipped from Sweden to North Korea in the decade.

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But Korea never paid Sweden back.

Soviet diplomats called the incident "the largest car theft in human history", Unilad reports.

And given the $70m was from decades ago, inflation means the real debt is probably a whole lot more now.

The moral of the story then, is to never lend North Korea a tenner. If the way they've treated Sweden is anything to go by, they might not pay you back.

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