Could Kim Jong-un be the next Tyler Florence? Will he be spicing things up, yelling "Bam," like Emeril? If you live in Scotland and have been craving dog meat soup and pine-nut gruel, you are in gastro-luck.
The North Korean dictator has already opened a chain of diner in Amsterdam and is now looking to bring his country's cuisine to the U.K., according to The Daily Mail. Scotland is being considered due to the communist ruling class' love of whiskey.
The chain of North Korean restaurants has branches in China and Asia, according to The Daily Mail, and the money is being kicked-back to Pyongyang. A secret branch of the North Korean government, Office 39, oversees the venture. (As HNGN previously reported, other monies are being funneled through businesses in China and propping up enterprises like the hush-hush hacking hub, Bureau 121).
Editor of North Korea Leadership Watch, Michael Madden, told The Daily News that North Korea wants diplomatic relations with left-leaning European countries.
"It would not surprise me at all if they opted to open a restaurant in Scotland," Madden said. "The Scottish independence referendum catapulted Scotland into the North Korean's elite's thoughts. Despite voting 'no' they'd consider left-leaning Scotland to be more suitable than England, plus North Koreans love whisky. Tourists in North Korea are told to tip people in scotch instead of the currency."
"North Korea is going to support any country struggling for independence and legitimacy, as North Korea itself still continues to seek validation and recognition of its own legitimacy as a sovereign nation," Jenn Town, of the U.S.-Korea Institute, told The Daily Mail.
The restaurants are run like franchises with 30 percent of the earnings going back to Pyongyang - some say directly into Kim's own Emmental-stained pockets.
"The North Korean Embassy in London did not respond to requests for a comment," according to the Daily Mail.
