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Kim Jong Un has banned social gatherings involving drinking and singing in North Korea.
Reports say the North Korean leader hopes the ban on fun will suppress the impact of economic sanctions in the country.
The sanctions were imposed in retaliation over North Korea’s development of nuclear devices and missiles.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the South Korean National Intelligence Service confirmed the ban.
It said: ‘(Pyongyang) … has banned any gatherings related to drinking, singing and other entertainment and is strengthening control of outside information.’
The ban comes just months after the Pyongyang Beer Festival was called off.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Monday put North Korea on the list of terrorism sponsors, thereby expanding the already substantial array of sanctions the US has imposed on trade with North Korea.
It will clamp down further on the North’s access to banks and other financial institutions and, more importantly, deepen the stigma any potential trading partners will have to take into account before doing business with Pyongyang.