Koreans not allowed to laugh for 11 days

Pyongyang: North Korea has imposed a ban on laughing, drinking, grocery shopping as the country is entering a mourning period from Friday, marking the 10th death anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il, who ruled the country from 1994 to 2011.

He was succeeded by present leader Kim Jong Un. In a report, Radio Free Asia confirmed the ban, quoting a resident of Sinuiju, a border city of the country. According to the resident, all leisure activities have been banned for this period.

Residents can't go grocery shopping, the report said. The offenders will be arrested as it happens every year, the resident said. "In the past, many people who were caught drinking or being intoxicated during the mourning period were arrested and treated as ideological criminals," the unnamed citizen said adding, "They were taken away and never seen again.

Kim Jong il died of a heart attack on December 17 in 2011 at the age of 69.