A Japanese daily says North Korean officials have regularly bribed Japanese traders since Tokyo banned the export of luxury goods to North Korea in June of last year.

The Sankei Shimbun says North Korean officials in charge of importing luxury goods invited Japanese businesspeople to posh restaurants in places such as Dalian, China, several times and induced them into making illegal shipments.

Sankei said the North would first wire a lump sum of money in the several 100-million-won range to Japanese traders and then place orders for specific products afterwards.

In Japan, six smuggling cases of luxury goods to North Korea via China have been uncovered since June of last year.