North Korea, however, still uses anti-Japanese sentiment to whip up nationalist fervor, reminding the population about Japanese war crimes, such as the use of Korean slave labor. This is not a regular occurrence.
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North Korea is marching to the beat of its own drum yet again.
There is no worldwide body that approves a country’s change of time zone as countries decide for themselves. Thus, there will be a 30-minute time difference between the two Koreas.
North Korea has announced that it is winding its clocks back by 30 minutes to create a new “Pyongyang Time” – breaking from a time standard imposed by what it called “wicked Japanese imperialists” more than a century ago.
“I hope we can do the same and reclaim our own standard time”, wrote another. A decree by colonial Japan in 1912 moved the time line to where Korea Standard Time is now set, 135 degrees east longitude. Secondly, the time will be applied August. 15, 2015.
In order to better understand the context of this order, a brief discussion of the historical background of this change is necessary.
In fact, prior to Japanese rule, Korea was already at GMT 8:30.
Reportedly, until Japan colonized Korea, one country before 1910, the entire Korean peninsula was 8.5 hours ahead of GMT.
Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was on the private four-day trip to North Korea for humanitarian goal, visiting children’s hospital and a nursery facility in Pyongyang. Thirdly, the government will take practical steps to implement the new time. The artillery causes no damage to South Korean ships.
That will reset the time to GMT+08:30, as it was before Japanese colonization. This argument is now no longer valid. The oddity dates back to General Franco aligning the country with Germany 70 years ago. It is also likely aimed at South Koreans many of whom are old enough to remember the Japanese occupation.
That Mr Kim, who is a godlike figure among North Koreans, is the grandfather of Kim Jong-un, the current leader. “Would you Southerners do the same?”
The country officially moved time zones to miss out on Friday, December 30 altogether, jumping swiftly from Thursday to the weekend, and into the adjacent westward time zone. Third, the very idea that the North should be followed in anything is unlikely to be sold here in Seoul. Many Koreans still harbor discontent over that period.
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“With the new time zone, Kim Jong-un is reasserting his code words of self-reliance and national dignity to his people”, North Korea expert, Chang Young-seok Chang said to the New York Times.
