Kim Jong Un is making jokes about him no laughing matter.
The diminutive dictator banned North Koreans from making sarcastic comments about him or his regime.
Government authorities gathered citizens in mass meetings to warn them of the latest ban, according to Radio Free Asia.
“One state security official personally organized a meeting to alert local residents to potential ‘hostile actions’ by internal rebellious elements,” an anonymous source told the station. “The main point of the lecture was ‘Keep your mouths shut!’”
The ban is reportedly in response to two phrases that have become popular throughout the totalitarian state: “This is America’s fault” and “A fool who cannot see the outside world.”
The former implies criticism of North Korea when said ironically — their version of the US’s “Thanks, Obama.” The latter has been used to mock the isolationist leader since last year, after Kim was absent from celebrations in China and Russia — both of which marked the anniversary of the end of World War II.
In 2014, the dictator banned the use of his name, and issued a temporary ban on weddings and funerals in May.
Luckily, we don’t live in North Korea, so we can still laugh at videos like this: