Mick Hartley

Kim Jong-un has commanded that from henceforth South Korea will be referred to as "the South Korean puppet state". With far-reaching consequences:

North Korean restaurants operating in Russia are no longer accepting South Korean customers. The policy change appears to be part of an order by North Korean authorities to turn away South Korean customers at all North Korean restaurants overseas.

On Apr. 1, a source in Russia told Daily NK that South Korean visitors to the North Korean Pyongyanggwan (“Pyongyang Restaurant”) in Vladivostok were unexpectedly turned away during a visit in mid-March.

The restaurant had previously been a popular destination for South Korean tourists and Korean expatriates in Russia.

A restaurant employee had struck up a conversation with the group as they were escorted to their seats. However, as soon as the group sat down, the employee asked them, “Are you puppets?” When the customers asked for clarification, the employee explained that he wanted to know if the customers were “from the South Korean puppet state.”

When the customers replied that they were from South Korea, the North Korean staff told them, “We can’t serve puppets here, get out right now,” and kicked the customers out of the restaurant.

This particular group of South Korean guests had been visiting Pyongyanggwan for several years and had eaten at the restaurant as recently as January without any problems. As a result, the group was quite confused by the sudden turn of events.

According to the source, “in the past, when customers revealed that they were from South Korea, the North Korean staff would be very friendly and make comments like ‘we are compatriots,’ but the customers in question now say that the staff’s attitude seems to have changed overnight.”