“One state security official personally organised a meeting to alert local residents to potential “hostile actions” by internal rebellious elements,” Radio Free Asia’s Korean Services quoted a source as saying.
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Kim Jong-Un is not a fan of sarcasm, apparently.
The statement by officials in Pyongyang follows the test-firing by North Korea of three ballistic missiles on Monday, as world powers gathered for a G20 meeting in China, with leader Kim Jong-Un hailing the tests as “perfect”.
Central government authorities gave the warnings to citizens at various mass meetings across the desolate country starting near the end of last month.
Another expression, “A fool who can not see the outside world”, has also spread quickly from government workers in Pyongyang.
The same anonymous source added, “The main point of the lecture was ‘keep your mouths shut”.
Even common idioms are not safe from the sarcasm crackdown: Radio Free Asia reported that, during one of the meetings, the party banned the common expression “a fool who can not see the outside world”, which the regime believes constitutes criticism of Kim’s refusal to attend global celebrations marking the end of World War II. This phrase was reported to have become popular among government officials in Pyongyang after Kim failed to attend memorial services held in Russian Federation and China to mark the end of World War II.
The ban follows a recent increase in reports of mocking and public acts of dissent, including anti-regime graffiti.
The official said citizens, particularly government employees, have started expressing their ire against the administration’s tendency to blame other countries, “when a problem’s cause obviously lies elsewhere”, the broadcasting agency reported.
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Dry British or American humor would not be greeted well in North Korea now that the country has “banned” sarcasm.
