DAILY STAR
North Korean dictator King Jong un seems to have a soft spot for the British pint after he praised a brewery his dad bought from the UK and shipped to the DPRK.
In 2000, tyrannical autocrat Kim Jong il copped himself a £1.5million Wiltshire brewery and shipped it over to the isolationist state piece by piece. Now his possibly hop-guzzling son has heralded his own private beer factory for its astonishing contribution to his country’s economy.
The brewery had once been owned by Ushers and specialised in regional bitters, according to the Telegraph, but that all changed when thirsty Kim senior took a liking to it. It was moved to the North Korean capital Pyongyang and was given a new name, The Taedonggang Beer Factory.
It opened 21 years ago and has since had a hat tip from the state for its contribution to the “five-year plan for national economic development”.
Prior to the sale and dismantling of the brewery, verification had to be made by the UK government that it could in no way contribute to the manufacture of chemical weapons. While that process was being carried out, local brewer Gary Todd gave a Korean delegation tuition on how to use the facility and turn it into a pint factory fit for a despot.
Mr Todd had run it until it closed and has since spoken out about the surreal experience. He said: “I had to effectively give them the crash course in brewing and we spent a lot of time going over the basics, but it seems that they got it because they are up and running there now.”
