Closed countries: North Korea and Saudi Arabia. Missiles for the poor: whom and why is the most closed country in the world arming

Turkmenistan is so afraid of allowing contact between locals and visitors that it has built a multi-billion dollar "tourist pen" in Avaza for foreigners.

IN Lately There is a lot of talk in Turkmenistan about the development of the tourism industry. They say that Turkmenistan with its ancient history and culture, original customs and traditions opens up to the world with bright facets of goodness, peace and cordiality. The President promises to build a world-class resort on the Caspian coast. Even in Ashgabat, a river was dug to keep up, as was stated, with Vienna, Paris and Budapest.

Anyone who knows the situation a little better than nothing has a suspicion that the thoughts and speeches of Turkmen officials are somewhat out of touch with reality. But the reality is that guests are not expected here.

No one can come to Turkmenistan without a visa, you won’t get a visa at the border, and you haven’t heard about e-visas here. There are only two such countries in the world: Turkmenistan and Syria. There is also Afghanistan, but with one significant difference- If you or your parents were born in Afghanistan, you do not need an entry visa there. It seems that a trifle, but speaks of the attitude towards people. In Turkmenistan, on the contrary, it is believed that the Turkmen with foreign passport ideologically more dangerous than any "real" foreigner.

In short, whether you are at least Russians, at least Chinese, at least “negroes of advanced years”, go to the nearest consulate of Turkmenistan, and there they will explain to you how the senseless and merciless Turkmen tourism begins - with an “invitation”.

Invitation

"Invitation" is a document that is issued for every foreigner who wants to come to Turkmenistan. Someone must “invite” every foreigner and in the future bear full responsibility for him, up to criminal responsibility (as happened more than once). This applies equally to hired workers, and to tourists, and to those wishing to visit relatives living in Turkmenistan.

There is even a normative act called “Obligations of legal entities and individuals who invited to Turkmenistan foreign citizens or stateless persons”, which reads, inter alia:

“Inviting foreign citizens or stateless persons, legal and individuals and host organizations are obliged to promptly explain to them their rights and obligations under the legislation of Turkmenistan, ensure their compliance with the legislation of Turkmenistan, and also take measures for their timely registration and execution of documents for stay in Turkmenistan ... "

Foreigners who do not have relatives or acquaintances in Turkmenistan, but who wish to visit there, are invited to use the services travel companies who will explain your rights and obligations to you, concoct the necessary "invitation" at the Migration Service, certify it at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and charge 300-500 dollars for this.

With a ready-made invitation in hand, you again go to the consulate, now to get the actual visa.

Visa

The Turkmen entry visa (surprise!) is the most expensive in the world. If multiple annual visa to the US or the UK will cost something around $200 (depending on the citizenship and place of residence of the applicant), then you will have to pay more than $1,000 for a similar Turkmen visa. Turkmenistan also offers cheaper short-stay and single-entry visas, but in set with an “invitation” and payment for hotel accommodation (even if you don’t need a hotel), they are still unthinkably expensive.

Let's take the simplest and cheapest tourist visa - a single-entry visa, a stay of 10 days. It takes about a month and 335 dollars to get it - 35 visa + 300 "invitation". No other tourist visa in the world is worth that kind of money!

Welcome!

Even if you managed to get a visa and come to Turkmenistan, you will need special permission to visit certain settlements, such as Atamurat (formerly Kerki), Khazar (Cheleken), Serkhetabad (Kushka) and Serakhs. Even citizens of Turkmenistan, not to mention foreigners, are not allowed to go there without permission. In the language of officials of the State Migration Service of Turkmenistan, this is called "an area closed to foreign citizens." And in general, a foreigner in Turkmenistan, if he is not a guest of the government, is subject to restrictions and prohibitions at every step.

For example, your visa indicates the border crossing point of Turkmenistan. If plans have changed, you will not be allowed in anywhere else and no visa will help.

Your visa also indicates the places you can visit. If the route has changed, you will be caught and expelled from the country. If you also took pictures at the same time, then, most likely, your camera will be taken away from you before deportation. And if you were accompanied by one of the locals, then in the next few years you most likely will not see him.

Arriving in Turkmenistan, foreign tourist is obliged to register with the State Committee for Tourism, appearing there in person with a passport and a certificate from the hotel. You cannot stay with relatives or acquaintances, for this you need to enter Turkmenistan at their private “invitation”. If you were “invited” in this order, you will have to register at the place of residence of the receiving citizen of Turkmenistan, where you will be required to provide a whole bunch of documents, including papers confirming kinship (“Hello, I am your aunt!”) And the purpose of the visit.

In 2009, speaking at a meeting of the Russian-Turkmen economic forum, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Viktor Zubkov proposed to simplify and then cancel the visa regime between Russia and Turkmenistan. “We need to achieve simplification as soon as possible visa regime with the prospect of its complete abolition, ”Zubkov said then, but did not achieve anything.

Theoretically, residents of the Atyrau and Mangystau regions of Kazakhstan can visit the Balkan velayat of Turkmenistan without visas (no more than 5 days), and residents of the Khorezm, Bukhara, Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya regions of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Karakalpakstan have the right to visit without visas (no more than 3 days once a month) areas of Turkmenistan directly adjacent to the Turkmen-Uzbek border. Theoretically, because there are relevant intergovernmental agreements, but no one knows what the hungry Turkmen border guard, guarding the blessed borders of his homeland, will get into his head. It may skip and wish you a safe journey, it may shoot out of fright, but most likely it will require money.

Another category of foreigners who allegedly do not need a Turkmen entry visa are honorary citizens of Turkmenistan. However, these cases are rare and not indicative. Only three holders of this honorary title are known for certain: Boris Yeltsin, Victor Sarianidi and former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The first two have died, and the third is unlikely to travel to Turkmenistan, especially without a visa.

Ask on the Internet a question about "the most closed countries in the world." The most popular answer is North Korea, but even there citizens of Malaysia and Singapore can travel without visas. Bhutan accepts visa-free citizens of Bangladesh, India and the Maldives. And the erroneously known as "closed" Polynesian Island state Tuvalu even issues entry visas to everyone in a row (including, by the way, citizens of Turkmenistan) right at the entrance.

Turkmenistan, on the other hand, is so afraid of allowing contact between local residents and visitors that it has built a multi-billion dollar "tourist paddock" for foreigners in Avaza. The participants of the Windsurfing World Cup stage who recently visited there were delighted in in social networks: “The country is a miracle! We have never been met with such honor! The whole hotel was at our disposal! Around servants and security! They were not told that servants with guards were needed so that the guests would not disperse. And of course, there was no one else in the hotel. There is no one there now.

Bon Voyage!

Speaking about the closed nature of Turkmenistan, it would not be superfluous to list the countries where you can travel with a Turkmen passport without worrying about obtaining a visa. There are 15 such countries in the world:

Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Ecuador, Gambia, Georgia, Grenada, Haiti, Malaysia, Micronesia, Namibia, Philippines, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sri Lanka and Turkey.

Another 30 countries offer citizens of Turkmenistan to obtain a visa "on the spot" upon arrival:

Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Guinea-Bissau, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Palau, Samoa, Seychelles, Tajikistan, East Timor, Togo, Tuvalu and Uganda.

It is clear with Turkey - as Turkmenbashi said, "one people, two states." But the rest of the countries that hospitably open their doors for the citizens of Turkmenistan cannot be called idle travel destinations that are desirable for Turkmens. Armenia, Georgia - perhaps yes, but I doubt that on beautiful beaches Micronesia or Palau has ever been set foot by a tourist from Turkmenistan. I also doubt that if you show up at the Ashgabat international Airport and inform the border guard that you are heading to Antigua and Barbuda, you will not be taken directly from the airport to the lunatic asylum.

And in general, according to the list, hardly anyone will undertake to argue that the authorities of Turkmenistan do not have their own view on the idea of ​​traveling without visas. After all, any passenger can be removed from the plane without explanation, even if he flies to Malaysia, even if he has required visa and not alone.

Turkmenistan is the most closed country in the world. The majority of Turkmens do not go anywhere (I do not mean the “golden Ashgabat youth”, who prefer traditional routes: the UAE, Turkey, Thailand). The number of tourists who have visited Turkmenistan is negligible, so much so that the exact figures are a state secret. One of the most popular tourist places- blazing gas crater in Darvaz. It is called "The Door to Hell". It doesn't say on the door whether it's an entrance or an exit.

Arslan Mammadov,
"Gundogar"

MOSCOW, October 18 - RIA Novosti, Andrey Stanavov. Ballistic missiles, multiple rocket launchers, artillery, grenade launchers, machine guns and ammunition - despite sanctions and endless "nuclear" scandals, the DPRK, according to experts, remains one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of weapons in the world.

Shadow market

Along with coal and seafood, weapons are traditionally one of the most important sources of replenishment of the DPRK budget. And although it is officially forbidden to export it to the country, no one has canceled illegal channels. Moreover, North Korean-made weapons are in great demand in the countries of the so-called third world, especially in those countries that are themselves under an embargo and cannot legally purchase missiles and "barrels" from other suppliers.

Thus, experts say, by driving another state into an economic blockade and deliberately making it a "rogue", the United States is actually expanding the list of potential "clients" of the DPRK. This also applies to North Korea itself - the introduction of new sanctions against it and the "chopping off" of legal sources of income (for example, coal sales to China) will force the country to increasingly "look to the left" and conquer shadow markets, including weapons.

“After the imposition of sanctions, it became very difficult to trace these deliveries,” said Yury Lyamin, a military expert and specialist in North Korea and Iran. “North Korea has not stopped trading in weapons, but at the same time it has learned to mask everything connected with this process well. Naturally, buyers too nothing is disclosed.

In fact, by imposing restrictions on certain countries, the Americans indirectly form an arms market for the DPRK, and practically unlimited."

And although the annual volume of unofficial arms exports of the DPRK is estimated by experts at more than $100 million, no one knows the real scale of trade - all transactions are concluded at the level of bilateral agreements between the DPRK and the country concerned in strict secrecy.

"In 2017, severe restrictions were imposed against the DPRK, including the sale of many commodities and the use of labor abroad. This should seriously affect their exports and may spur the illegal arms trade. They will try to earn currency by any means," — Yury Lyamin told RIA Novosti.

Clones of clones

"The DPRK attracts customers low price, good reliability and an almost unlimited number of Korean weapons,” notes the deputy director Russian Center analysis of strategies and technologies Konstantin Makienko. “This country sells almost everything it produces, from machine guns to multiple rocket launchers. Most rifle systems are clones of Soviet Kalashnikovs, or clones of Chinese clones copied from Soviet ones.

North Korea produces infantry armaments in abundance, including multiple launch rocket systems and cannon artillery, anti-tank missile systems, machine guns, grenade launchers and ammunition for all this. It is known that Syria bought shells for 130-millimeter artillery from the Koreans.

Separately, it is worth mentioning missile technologies, with which North Korea has taken a unique position in the arms market. In the 1980s, North Korean specialists were able to independently copy the Soviet operational-tactical complex R-17 "Elbrus" with a ballistic missile 8K14 (according to NATO codification - "Scud"). The prototypes were purchased from Egypt. Cloned rockets were quickly put up for sale, and there are known facts of the supply of entire assembly lines for them.

© AP Photo / Korea News Service

© AP Photo / Korea News Service

Copies of Scuds from North Korea were bought by such countries as Iran, Syria, Yemen. The range of the first samples did not exceed 300 kilometers, but then the Koreans "twisted" them up to 600 km, and as a result, they created the Nodon medium-range missile, capable of delivering a charge to a distance of up to 1300 kilometers. These items can be equipped with conventional, nuclear or chemical warheads.

In the Iran-Iraq war, more than 90% of North Korean-made missiles launched by Iran hit the right place. The percentage of failures was minimal, which indicates a fairly high quality of weapons. Later, the North Korean "Scud" copied Iran, calling its version "Shahab-3". Now, with the help of the Koreans, he has established own production and it no longer buys ready-made missiles, limiting itself to cooperation in the field of technology.

The situation is interesting because, due to international agreements, large manufacturers of missile systems cannot sell systems with a range of more than 300 kilometers. Pyongyang, by virtue of its isolation, does not fall under the agreements and for many countries has actually become a monopoly in this area.

Anti-ship missile and artillery systems, presumably manufactured by the DPRK, have been spotted on Myanmar warships more than once. Officially, nothing was said about the deliveries, but outwardly they are no different from those installed on North Korean boats.

The cheapness of Korean weapons is explained by the high mass production of them for their own army. The DPRK has in fact always stood "on a military footing." In addition, she has no problems with resources. The country is rich in ore and coal deposits, deposits of rare earth metals necessary for the production of electronics. In many respects, this is why the nuclear program is also developing - any other country could envy its own uranium deposits of the DPRK.

From Egypt to Myanmar

As for geography, the main buyers of North Korean weapons are those countries with which it is easier to negotiate without intermediaries and publicity. The list of traditional partners of the DPRK includes Iran, Syria, Cuba, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, Uganda, Congo, and a number of other states. In addition, weapons were sold to non-state paramilitary organizations, in particular the Hamas and Hezbollah movements.

"North Korea desperately needs a currency. And what can they offer the world besides coal for China and cheap labor? Only weapons. Their buyers are third world countries, the so-called rogue states, crushed by American sanctions and in an economic blockade. Or, which is not uncommon, non-governmental formations, such as the armed opposition, private military companies, and so on," Makienko told RIA Novosti.

Weapons are transported mainly by sea - aviation is inconvenient because refueling often requires intermediate landings in third countries. This is dangerous - the plane can be inspected and detained. With ships in this sense, it is easier, especially sailing under the flag of the DPRK.

"To stop a ship flying the North Korean flag in neutral waters is not the most simple task, such an attempt can turn into big trouble, as the Koreans are fiercely defending their sovereignty. If it goes directly from the DPRK to the country of destination, then stopping it in order to check the cargo can be regarded as an act of aggression against North Korea with all the consequences," Lyamin said.

Despite all precautions, interception incidents did occur. For example, in the 2000s there was a high-profile international scandal - in Indian Ocean transport with a cargo of ballistic missiles for Yemen was stopped. The ban on arms exports against the DPRK was not yet in effect, so the customer demanded to release the ship and eventually received his cargo. There is also a known case when a North Korean ship with a load of grenade launchers and shots for them, sailing to Egypt, was stopped in the Red Sea.

Sometimes the DPRK authorities resort to the help of trusted intermediaries - in the Middle East and in South-East Asia the country has many business representatives.

North Korea is taking it seriously travel business, and some operators are already starting to recruit groups to visit the most closed country in the world. But besides North Korea, there are several other unusual states that have hardly been visited by tourists.

The most non-tourist and little-visited country in the world. It is located in an archipelago of islands in the Pacific Ocean.

Tuvalu belongs to the countries of the fourth world, that is, to the poorest. This is not surprising: after all, it has almost no markets for its products, the economy is exclusively natural and works for the domestic market, and there is an acute shortage of qualified specialists. At the same time, Tuvalu is incredible beautiful country, which has something to show the traveler.

The most closed country in the world, which has become a byword and an antonym to the words "democracy", "freedom" and "welfare". North Korea is the only country world that is not a member of the UN, and the only one that cares so much about its few tourists. All foreigners who have arrived in the country are taken under guardianship by an annoying guide who does not allow a step to step outside the prescribed route.

You might think that the rulers of North Korea deliberately create such a specific image for the country so that tourists go to it. Unfortunately, they do this involuntarily, although the effect of this does not change: those who want to go to the caricatured totalitarian North Korea number in the hundreds of thousands.

Most small state South America has a lot to offer tourists. Except, perhaps, developed tourism infrastructure. Suriname is surprising in that it has almost no cities and villages in the full sense of the word. Hundreds of kilometers of jungle with the roofs of houses occasionally appearing among the thickets are all that can be seen in Suriname.

At the same time, there is a very rich plant and animal world, an unusual way of life and a peculiar culture local residents. All this is worthy tourist attention, one has only to close one's eyes to the endless jungle and harsh climatic conditions.

Sealand is definitely the most amazing country in the world. It is located ten kilometers from the coast of Great Britain and was founded in 1967 by retired Major Paddy Roy Bates. This man captured one of the defensive platforms built during the Second World War, and proclaimed himself emperor, and called his land Sealand.

After the creation of the empire, the emperor wrote the constitution. The constitutional monarchy is currently ruled by Prince Michael I Bates. The legal system is based on British law, the state machine is run by several ministries. Almost every citizen of Sealand is a minister or high-ranking official, since the population of the state is only about five people. Most countries do not recognize Sealand as sovereign, although the British authorities consider it an independent state entity.

Eric Lafforgue

"My Planet" understands how things really are in countries that are not customary to choose as a place for a planned summer vacation.

In the first article, we talked about life in. We continue...

North Korea

Chintung Lee

The most closed country on the planet - North Korea - adopted the status of a People's Democratic Republic in 1948. Currently, the power in the country belongs to Kim Jong-un. All people living in the country are officially forbidden to talk about their lives and household arrangements of their families.

Lifestyle

All residents of North Korea are conditionally divided into three levels: the main, hesitant and hostile. The status goes to the modern Korean by inheritance, based on his position in society and the activities of his ancestors during the Korean War. Those who are in the Labor Party are the main group, those who are expelled from the party are the hostile group. Representatives of the latter cannot get higher education and serve in the army.

The standard of living in the DPRK is low, the government invests all the funds in the army and weapons.

North Koreans dress simply, ride bicycles (because they cannot afford to buy a car), and soldiers walk the streets.

women perform hard work in the fields and factories on a par with men.

Inheritance is passed down through the male line.

Chintung Lee / Shutterstock.com

healthcare

The task of the Party is a strong and healthy nation. From early childhood, it is customary for young North Koreans to be enrolled in sports sections, and a regime of compulsory physical training is instilled. Obesity is not a problem that is peculiar to Koreans, the nation does not overeat. Women are not allowed to smoke. However, while the average life expectancy in the DPRK is 66 years. The government also has a policy to reduce the number of children in families.

Career

The communist regime of North Korea has infiltrated every area of ​​people's lives. In the mornings, the howling of sirens is heard here, waking citizens from sleep and urging them to go to work. Crowds of people on bicycles go to plants and factories, there are no traffic lights on the roads, and special girls-regulators follow the regulation. At the end of the working day, closer to night, all city lights are turned off, plunging cities into darkness.

benyjakabek

There are no salaries in the DPRK as such. More precisely, its size is about $ 3-5 - with this money you can buy two cups of coffee. There is quite a bit of live money in the country, everything necessary for life is given to people as coupons, while medicine, education and housing are free. Exemplary workers with good behavior receive, in addition to basic food stamps, additional amounts of rice, meat and eggs. The entire agricultural culture is based on the cultivation of corn, potatoes and millet, so there are very few fresh vegetables in the country. People even eat ordinary grass, which is plucked from the lawn.

Democracy, glasnost

In North Korea, it is forbidden to listen to foreign music and watch foreign TV channels. Actually, people simply do not have access to foreign sources of culture, each film and song must be approved personally by the leader.

Vincent St. Thomas / Shutterstock.com

For disobedience to the laws, the criminal is threatened with hard labor or prison. So, for example, you can end up in places of deprivation of liberty for operations with renting an apartment, and for storing foreign sources of information you can get up to three years. For especially grave crimes - political treason to the state and embezzlement of public funds - public execution in the form of shooting follows. As a result, there is almost no crime in the country.

Religion

The main religion is Buddhism and Confucianism. Those religions that are not officially registered in the church are considered illegal, and their followers are persecuted by law.

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Entry into the country

It is carried out only with travel agencies. Throughout the trip, the tourist is under strict supervision and has the right to move around the city only with a guide. It is forbidden to bring any gadgets, phones and radios with you, as this can damage the reputation of the country. If you refuse to play by these rules, you will be blacklisted and permanently denied tourist visa in future.

Saudi Arabia

Fedor Selivanov

Saudi Arabia was formed in 1932 by the merger of two principalities, Najd and Hijaz. In 1938, the first oil was found in the country, and since then it has been considered the first in the world to extract this mineral, and, accordingly, the richest. Power here is transmitted exclusively by inheritance, only through the Al Saud family line. The royal family is allowed to have up to four wives.

Religion

If North Korea is a secular state, then in Saudi Arabia, religion determines the way of life. The country lives under strict Sharia law, because of this, any public entertainment is prohibited: theater, cinema, concert under open sky, circus, etc. It is allowed to watch local TV and listen to Islamic radio stations.

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Democracy, glasnost, attitude towards women

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where it is forbidden for women to work, drive a car, leave the house without a male escort (only with a family representative). Most recently, in 2011, women were allowed to vote in local elections. Also, they cannot be used. public transport, elevators and restaurants common to both sexes (some have specially equipped separate entrances and exits). Many restaurants have separate rooms for couples and men.

The male guardian, the mahram, plays an important role in all aspects of a woman's life. Without the agreement of the mahram, a woman cannot marry, get an education, get a job, move within the country, travel abroad, open a bank account, and even have a planned operation. Residential buildings are designed taking into account the gender division - for women they build rooms with high walls and small windows, which must be hung with curtains.

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Legislation

For possession of drugs, the death penalty is expected, for drinking alcohol - flogging, prison and deportation. In this regard, expats clandestinely brew moonshine, which is called sadyki here. The death penalty in the country it is provided for murder, armed robbery, homosexuality, any extramarital and premarital affairs, witchcraft, religious apostasy, violent acts of a sexual nature and the creation of opposition groups to the authorities. The profession of an executioner is considered very honorable and is inherited. In general, Saudi Arabia has a list of professions, officially approved by the Ministry of Labor, for which only Saudis are accepted (HR specialist or government relations specialist).

Entry into the country

For a long time the country was absolutely closed to tourists. In the mid-2000s, it was decided to open tourist entry for foreign citizens, but visas are issued only to businessmen and diplomats, relatives of the country's citizens, for transit to a third country and Muslim pilgrims. Entry individual tourists still banned. The pilgrimage is also not so simple: staying in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina for non-Muslims is prohibited by law.

27 facts about the most closed country on the planet Earth - North Korea.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, better known simply as North Korea, is one of the most closed and isolated states in the world.

North Korea among other "luminous countries from space.

You can’t just get into the country, even as a tourist, just like leaving its borders. The country has established a monarchical dictatorship and a national communist system called Juche.

1.On the territory of North Korea, only employees of certain institutions can use the Internet. For all other residents of the DPRK, a national computer network is available - Roskomnadzor Kwanmyon.

2. According to a UN report, 60% of North Korean children are malnourished and 16% suffer from hunger.

3. In the DPRK, now it’s not 2015, but the 104th. The Juche calendar dates back to the birth year of Kim Il Sung.

4. North Korea is one of the most literate countries in the world, the average literacy rate in the DPRK is 99%

5. North Korea has the largest sports arena in the world - May Day Stadium - with a capacity of 150,000 people.

6. Residents of the DPRK, especially those born after the Korean War, are almost 6 centimeters shorter than South Koreans.

7. In North Korea, you will laugh, marijuana is legal and not considered a drug.

8. North Korea's economy was larger than South Korea's until the 1970s. Now GDP is only 2.5% of South Korea's.

9. For 20 years, the Ryugyong in Pyongyang was considered the tallest hotel in the world. The height of the 105-storey hotel is 330 m. Construction of the building began in 1987, and it is still empty.

11. The main cause of all the problems in the world, according to the official ideology, is the Americans. Mothers teach their children to sing songs about bad Americans, and in case the kids don't remember, there are postage stamps for sale with images of dead "American imperialists."

12. Society in North Korea is divided into 51 "social categories" - the country's population is ranked according to the degree of "loyalty to Putin's regime."

13. In North Korea, only military and government officials are allowed to own their own vehicle.

14. The DPRK has its own operating system for computers - Red Star OS.

15. North Korea is the only country in the world that has a captured US Navy ship.

16. Over the past 60 years, more than 23,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea, only two have followed in the opposite direction.

17. This is not a communist country at all, as everyone thinks. Starting from 2009, the state policy is officially called "Juche", the country goes its own way, preserving traditional values ​​and "spiritual bonds".

18. In North Korea, it is illegal to twerk while wearing jeans.

19. North Koreans can only choose their hairstyle from 28 officially approved ones.

20. In the 1950s, North Korea built the “magnificent” village of Skolkovo Kijeondong near the demilitarized zone to lure South Korean citizens. "City of propaganda" turned out to be nothing more than a props.

21. The founder of the North Korean state, Kim Il Sung, was born on the day the Titanic sank (April 15, 1912).

22. In 2012, North Korean archaeologists announced that they had “discovered” the tomb of a unicorn that was ridden by King Tongmung, the founder of the Goguryeo dynasty and state, 2,000 years ago.

23. In 1962, six American soldiers defected to North Korea; defectors live there to this day.

24. Keeping a Bible, watching South Korean films and distributing pornography is punishable by death in North Korea.

25. Elections are held in North Korea every five years. However, only one candidate from United Russia is listed on the ballots.

26. North Korea uses fax to send threats to South Korea.