North Korea
Kim Jong Il, inventor of the burrito? North Korean state media makes strange claim
- North Korea’s state news organization Rodong Sinmun claimed the late North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il invented “wheat wraps” in 2011.
- A video was posted by Pen News showing North Koreans preparing and enjoying wraps alongside a mural, which appeared to celebrate the former leader’s purported invention.
North Korean state media has claimed Kim Jong-Il invented “wheat wraps,” which closely resemble burritos.
In a propaganda video from Pen News, a street food stand outside the Kumsong Food Factory in Pyongyang was shown selling “wheat wraps” to people, including children and soldiers. More shots displayed an industrial kitchen with trays full of filling, which appeared to contain vegetables like cabbage and carrots. Spinning meat resembling an al pastor trompo could also be seen in some shots.
North Korean defector sneaks back because of financial struggles he faced as janitor in South Korea
Security officials believe the man who “re-defected” to North Korea by sneaking through the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) on New Year’s Day was the same person who sneaked into South Korea in 2020.
Security surveillance reportedly captured an unidentified man crawling over a barbed-wire fence at the southern part of the border and entering North Korean territory on Saturday, South Korea’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
North Korea bans laughing, drinking for 11 days on 10th anniversary of Kim Jong-il’s death
On the 10th anniversary of former supreme leader of North Korea Kim Jong-il’s death last week and the beginning of the country’s 11-day bereavement mandate, a noticeably slimmer Kim Jong-un made an appearance to commemorate his father’s death.
Death anniversary: Donning his trademark black leather coat, North Korean’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un, 37, stood in front of thousands of North Koreans who attended the memorial service at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum of the late leader, on Friday, according to Reuters. North Korea’s flag was also flown at half-mast as part of the commemoration.
North Korea executes citizens for watching K-pop videos, says Seoul-based NGO
At least seven executions under North Korean leader Kim Jong Un were the result of individuals watching K-pop, or pop music from South Korea, according to a report from a Seoul-based NGO.
Deadly consequences: The Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) published a report this month mapping out killings made under Kim.
North and South Korea agree ‘in principle’ to formally end Korean War after 70 years
South Korean President Moon Jae-in says North Korea’s objection to the U.S. government’s alleged “hostility” has prevented the official end to the decades-long Korean war.
A formal end to war: During a press conference in Canberra, Australia, on Monday, Moon said that the two Koreas, along with China and the U.S., have agreed to declare peace at least “in principle,” reported The Guardian.
Man arrested 5 times in 3 days because he looked like North Korean fugitive
A man from China was reported to the police five times in three days due to his resemblance to a North Korean defector.
The doppelganger: The Chinese man in the dark blue jacket has a similar hairstyle, facial features and expression of the North Korean, who is identified as Zhu Xianjian by Republic World.
‘Symbol of power’: North Korea bans leather coats after its citizens start copying Kim Jong-un’s style
The North Korean government has reportedly imposed a ban against leather coats to keep young men from imitating Kim Jong-un’s trademark style.
Kim the trendsetter: In 2019, the North Korean leader sparked a trend following a TV appearance in which he wore a leather trench coat, reported Radio Free Asia.