The North Korean government is as fascinating as it is alarming. The state is known for its dictatorship, although it tries to come off as a socialist state. North Korea has almost completely isolated itself from the rest of the global community.
North Korea’s closed-off nature makes it possible for its leaders to strictly control what information is given to the public. If you read the crazy things North Korean leaders have said, you’ll probably want to learn more about the country.
These quotes are all most people will get to experience the probable dysfunction of the North Korean regime. From strange fibs to outrageous lies, here are the craziest things that North Korean leaders have claimed.
1. No one is disabled in Korea
North Korea claims that no one in the country has disabilities, but the government has long been rumored to dispose of those individuals. One defector claims that babies with disabilities are taken away by hospital staff and that men with dwarfism are castrated and forced to live in an isolated village.
2. North Korea can cure AIDS and cancer
In an apparent effort to promote the scientific advancement of the country, North Korean state media reported in 2016 that researchers had invented a new type of miracle drug. Supposedly made from rare earth elements, it was able to cure AIDS, eradicate certain types of cancer, and completely destroy the Ebola virus.
Unfortunately for the rest of the world, scientists from the country declined to share the specific ingredients involved in manufacturing the drug.
3. Leaders do not use the toilet
State media within North Korea has put out a number of outlandish claims to build up a cult of personality around the Supreme Leaders. Perhaps the most famous – and strangest claim was that Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung did not defecate. This was likely said in support of the view that the leaders are practically gods and are supernatural in nature.
However, the claim appears to no longer be touted by the government, with Kim Jong-un having his own personal toilet with him at all times.
4. North Korean researchers found unicorns
In 2012, the Korean Central News Agency broke the story of how researchers had discovered a real-life unicorn lair inside the country. This cave was allegedly the lair of one of the unicorns that was ridden by an ancient Asian leader known as King Tongmyong.
A group of archeologists from the Academy of Social Sciences at the History Institute was credited with the discovery, with the lair being found just a short distance away from a sacred temple in Pyongyang.
5. Kim Jong-un could drive by the age of three
In 2015, reports began to emerge from North Korea about a new curriculum that teachers had to use that included updated biographical information about the young Kim Jong-un. Said to be a child prodigy, Kim Jon-un reportedly could drive by the time he was three, was winning yachting races at nine, and was also an expert artist and musical composer at a young age.
6. Magpies mourned the death of Kim Jong-il
Thousands of people publicly mourned Kim Jong-il’s passing, but according to state news agency KCNA, nature even grieved the loss. Ice that had formed over a famous lake allegedly cracked, mysterious lights were seen on top of a sacred mountain, and snowstorms hit parts of the country the moment the leader died.
There were even reports that flocks of magpies were grieving at the spot of a statue of Kim Jong-il and his father, Kim Il-sung.
7. The country created hangover-free alcohol
North Korea claimed in 2016 that the country had managed to invent a new type of alcohol that wouldn’t lead to hangovers. The Pyongyang Times, a state-run newspaper, explained that the hangover-free booze is made from special ingredients that stop it from causing headaches and sickness – even though the liquor can reach an alcohol content of 40%.
8. Kim Jong-il bowled a perfect game and made eleven holes in one
According to state media, Kim Jong-il bowled a perfect 300 game in 1994 at a bowling alley donated by a Korean businesswoman. He also allegedly shot a world-record score of 34 across 18 holes on a golf course in the country.
This round included eleven holes-in-one and not one hole with a score of more than a birdie.
9. Kim Jong-il set a fashion trend
In 2010, articles began appearing on North Korea’s official state news website claiming that Kim Jong-il’s fashions were being copied worldwide. Apparently the leader’s modest gray suits “[leave] a deep impression on people’s mind [sic] in the world.”
10. Kim Jong-il wrote more than 1,500 Books
Apparently, Kim Jong-il was a genius academic and composer. According to his official biography, the leader wrote over 1,500 books while at university, all available in the state library. After graduating, he reportedly penned six operas, “all of which are better than any in the history of music.”
11. Kim Jong-il was born under a double rainbow
According to the official biography of Kim Jong-il, his birth was marked by a number of miraculous events. The document states that he was born inside a military base located on a sacred mountain. Not long afterward, a double rainbow appeared and a new star was formed in the sky.
Documents from Soviet Russia reveal that the Supreme Leader was actually born in Vyatskoye, where his father was commanding a battalion of troops.
