Home ›› 18 Dec 2021 ›› World Biz
North Korea has imposed a ban on laughing, drinking, and grocery shopping as the country entered an 11-day mourning period from Friday, marking the 10th death anniversary of former leader Kim Jong Il.
Radio Free Asia confirmed the ban in a report, quoting a resident of Sinuiju, a border city of the country, reports Hindustan Times.
According to the resident, all leisure activities have been banned for the period while residents can't go grocery shopping, the report said.
The offenders will be arrested as it happens every year, the resident said.
"In the past, many people who were caught drinking or being intoxicated during the mourning period were arrested and treated as ideological criminals," the unnamed citizen said adding, "They were taken away and never seen again."
The mourning period will go on for 11 days this year as this is the 10th death anniversary. Generally, a 10-day mourning period is observed every year.
"Even if your family member dies during the mourning period, you are not allowed to cry out loud and the body must be taken out after it's over. People cannot even celebrate their own birthdays if they fall within the mourning period," the resident added.
The crackdown this year has been going on since the beginning of December as the North Korean Police were preparing for the mourning period.
On Friday, the East Asian country marked the 10th death anniversary of Kim Jong Il with a memorial service attended by thousands, including his son Kim Jong Un, state television footage showed, reports AFP.
Kim Jong Il ruled North Korea for 17 years until his death in December 2011, passing on power to his son.
The current leader attended a memorial ceremony Friday at the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum for Kim Jong Il and his father Kim Il Sung — the founder of North Korea.
Three generations of the Kim family have ruled the country since 1948.
North Koreans are taught from birth to revere Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and all adults wear badges depicting one or both men.
In footage aired by KCTV, Kim Jong Un was seen bowing before a large portrait of his father, standing on a platform overlooking what appeared to be thousands of people on the grounds of the palace.
Flags flew at half-mast on a freezing day in Pyongyang, where people marked the anniversary by bowing their heads in silence before portraits of Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung.
Others were seen bowing before a mosaic mural of the two Kims and leaving flowers.
North Korea's tightly controlled state media on Friday ran editorials praising Kim Jong Il's "revolutionary leadership", while urging people to remain devoted to his son.
