North Korea Creates Own Time Zone

Determined to establish idiosyncrasy, North Korea announced last Friday via state-run television KRT (KCNA News Agency) that it is set to change its time zone on August 15, 2015 - dubbing it "Pyeongyang Time."

As mandated, all clocks are to be moved back by 30 minutes on the said date, which also marks the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese rule. As with all of its unique efforts to be separate itself from other states, North Korea aims to break from the Japanese rule through this decision.

   "The wicked Japanese imperialists committed such unpardonable crimes as depriving Korea of even its standard time while mercilessly trampling down its land with 5 000 year-long history and culture and pursuing the unheard-of policy of obliterating the Korean nation."

Three specifications were highlighted in the said decree, as stated by the KCNA.

  "Firstly, the time at 127 degrees 30 minutes east longitude or 30 minutes later than the present one shall be fixed as the standard time of the DPRK and called Pyongyang time.

 Secondly, Pyongyang time shall be applied from Aug. 15, Juche 104 (2015).

 Thirdly, the DPRK Cabinet and relevant organs shall take practical steps to carry out this decree."

The full decree may be accessed here.

It is to be noted that local time in both North and South Korea (known then as a single Korea) and Japan has been the same since Japan's rule over from 1910 to 1945. After its liberation, North Korea maintained the current time zone while South Korea has adopted the old one from 1954 to 1965.

Unlike the North, the South will not cease to use the old timezone "because it's more practical for business and conforms to international practice," as reported by the Daily Mail.

The Washington Post's Adam Taylor remarks that this may seem relatively minor compared to nuclear war threats or executions. However, he explains that the actual impact of time zone could mean a critical shift the lives of every single person who lives in North Korea.

Furthermore, the change might alter the country's relationship with foreign powers. While there exists no international body that regulates time zones, the repercussions of changing one could mean dealing with adverse effects.

Unification Ministry official Jeong Joon-Hee, one of the key individuals working on the economic cooperation of both the North and South Korea, told AFP reporters last Friday, "In the longer term, there may be some fallout for efforts to unify standards and reduce differences between the two sides."