Kim Jong-un arrives for an event.

Gulf Today Report

North Korea’s supreme Leader Kim Jong-un has imposed a strict ban on laughing, drinking and shopping for its citizens for a period of 11 days to mark the 10th anniversary of his father Kim Jong-il's death.

The ban became effective from December 17, and will last for 11 days.

During the period of mourning, citizens are prohibited from engaging in any kind of celebration and leisure activities, as reported by the Korean service of Radio Free Asia.

"During the period of mourning, we should not drink alcohol, laugh or participate in leisure activities," said an anonymous resident of Sinuiju.

Although it is usually a period of 10 days of mourning followed each year, this year mourning period has been expanded for another day since 2021 marks the tenth anniversary of the leader's father.

The radio suggested that if a resident breaks the rule, they can be arrested.

A woman rides a cycle.

In the past, residents convicted of violating restrictions “have been arrested and treated as criminals.

An unnamed resident said, “They were taken away and we never saw them again.”

In addition to the aforementioned restriction, spending was banned on December 17, the day Kim Jong-il died in 2011. 

Not just that, people can't even celebrate their own birthdays, a resident said.

In the event that a death occurs in a family during the grieving period, the bereaved family members cannot cry out loud.

The body, according to the report, must be taken out of the house as soon as possible.

The same report also cited another unnamed resident who said law enforcement officials were asked to "crack down" on any rule violators.

As per a report in Newsweek, citizens in the capital city of Pyongyang were made to bow their heads and observe three minutes of silence as a siren blared across the city in remembrance of Kim Jong-il on December 17.  

Additionally, cars, ships and trains all blew their horns on the occasion.