No more laughs for 11 days in North Korea: The most taken measures in memory of Kim Jong Il

Some of the bans allegedly imposed in North Korea to honor the memory of the country’s leader Kim Jong Il, ten years after his death, are unbelievable.

In the capital Pyongyang, sirens sounded for three minutes, flags fluttered at half-mast, vehicles honked as ships and trains whistled.

Nothing strange in all this, nor is the pilgrimage to statues of the deceased leader particularly strange.

The surprising measures are the eleven-day ban on laughing, drinking alcohol and participating in any leisure activity, even shopping.

The US – funded non – profit Radio Free Asia (RFA) organization, according to Independent, broadcasts the relevant news, citing the testimony of a resident of the border town of Shinuju who is not named.

According to the publication, those who are found by the authorities to be happy or drunk in violation of the 11-day rules will be arrested. The same source states that in the past, people arrested in similar periods of mourning in memory of the North Korean leader were treated as dissidents. “They took them and we never saw them again,” the resident reportedly told RFA.

In addition to laughing, loud crying is forbidden, even to someone who may have lost a loved one.

The mourning period traditionally lasts for ten days but this year another day has been added.

The state media today called on citizens to remain loyal to the principles of Kim Jong Il and devoted to his son and current President Kim Jong Un.

A video was also released of the event, which was attended by Kim Jong Un and attended by hundreds of Pyongyang officials in the courtyard of the Sun Kumsusan Palace, where both Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung are buried.

Kim Jong Il was the leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011 when he died at the age of 69 after a heart attack.

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