North Korea asks parents to name children 'bomb', 'gun' and other patriotic names

The North Korean government has reportedly asked parents to give their children patriotic names such as "bomb," "gun," and "satellite."

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un has called names like A Ri (loved one) and Su Mi (super beauty) "soft" and "anti-socialist," as they do not end in consonants.

Therefore, the authorities have now asked parents to use names like Chong Il (gun), Pok Il (bomb), Chung Sim (loyalty), and Ui Song (satellite).

The government has threatened to slap people with fines if they do not comply with these instructions. The parents are being asked to give "revolutionary" names to their children.

"Residents are complaining that the authorities are forcing people to change their names according to the standards required by the state. People with names that don't have a final consonant have until the end of the year to add political meanings to their name to meet revolutionary standards," a North Korean citizen told Radio Free Asia (RFA) on condition of anonymity.

They added that the authorities are reminding people of the latest orders at local meetings on a regular basis.

The officials have also made it clear that the names should not be similar to those in South Korea, which are "a copy of the decadent Western Yankee culture." People have been asked to avoid using a mixture of names from neighbouring countries.

"Authorities criticised multiple generations of families for not hesitating to name their children with a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean names rather than North Korean ones," another person told RFA.

North Korea is a highly centralised, one-party totalitarian dictatorship. It has been ruled by one family for decades. Three generations of the Kim family have ruled the country with absolute repression, making it one of the world's most repressive states.

The government has absolute control over its citizens' lives, and people have no freedom of expression, assembly, association, or religion.