North Korea To Establish its Own Time Zone

Let's face it, it must be brilliant being a dictator.

Sure, you have make sure everyone fears you, you don't really have anyone you can trust and you have to routinely order killings to keep the minions in line - that must take it out of you - but the rest of the time you get to do anything that you want. Even if it's completely crazy.

And North Korea's Kim Jong-Un has never been one to shy away from doing exactly that. His latest ruse is for North Korea to move its current standard time back by 30 minutes to create its own time zone. Well, why the hell not eh?

Related: The Craziest North Korean News Coverage

The move is apparently designed to distance the country from South Korea and Japan, with whom it currently shares a time zone, which has been the case ever since Japan ruled over a unified Korea from 1910 to 1945.

The Korean Central News Agency announced the move, stating that "Pyongyang time" was aimed to destroy the legacy of their colonial period. In typically understated language, they said, “The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time while mercilessly trampling down its land with 5,000-year-long history and culture and pursuing the unheard-of policy of obliterating the Korean nation".

Well, Japan, they're gonna show you now - by being half an hour behind you! Take that!

The change will take effect on 15 August, the day which celebrates the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation at the end of World War II. Korea - both North and South - still hold resentment over their treatment by the Japanese during the period of occupation, so it could well be a popular move in the North - not that the people will get any choice in the matter.

The move is expected to cause disruption at a jointly run industrial park on the border between the two nations - workers presumably will now try and get an hour and a half for lunch instead, and could cause difficulties by creating further differences between the two nations.

Just for a laugh though, South Korea should do the same. Maybe a day earlier.