North Korea instructs parents to name their children ‘bomb’, ‘gun’. Here’s why

North Korea wants parents to give kids ‘patriotic’ names like ‘Bomb’, ‘Gun’ and ‘Satellite’ as the country is cracking down on names that the government thinks are ‘too soft’, reported The Mirror.

The country wants parents to name their children in a more patriotic and ideological way. Earlier, names similar to those used in South Korea, like A Ri meaning ‘loved one’ and Su Mi meaning ‘super beauty’ were allowed in North Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un wants the new names to have a final consonant. In case the names are not changed, the parents could also face penalties, the report said. The leader is said to believe that failure to comply with the rule is “anti-socialist” and those who do not adhere could be fined. Names that can be used under the new rule cited by the Mirror report include Pok Il meaning ‘bomb’, Chung Sim meaning ‘loyalty’ and Ui Song meaning ‘satellite’.

This comes as tensions between North Korea and South Korea have been mounting. Last year, North Korea reportedly banned its citizens from laughing, shopping or drinking, as part of a 11-day mourning period on the tenth death anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il.

Earlier today, North Korea fired around 130 artillery shells into the sea off its east and west coasts, South Korea’s military said, in the latest apparent military drill near their shared border. Some of the shells landed in a buffer zone near the sea border in what Seoul said was a violation of a 2018 inter-Korean agreement designed to reduce tensions.