PHOTOS North Korea skips nukes on anniversary stamps
The (North) Korean Stamp Corporation released this collection of stamps marking the 70th anniversary of the regime's founding. KCNA-Yonhap
By Jung Da-min
The national emblem. KCNA-Yonhap.
The national flag. KCNA-Yonhap.
North Korea issued a set of stamps promoting its self-reliant socialist economy and the excellence of its science technologies on the 70th anniversary of the regime's founding, North Korea's party mouthpiece Rodong Sinmun reported Sunday.
Issued by the Korean Stamp Corporation, the five stamps in a row do not feature or mention nuclear weapons or missiles.
Only one of the stamps features soldiers holding guns with a phrase reading "matchless and victorious forces of revolution."
Another stamp shows a soldier, factory worker, teacher and farmer together with a phrase reading "unity in one mind," while another next to it features a worker with the phrase "self-rehabilitation."
On another stamp, North Korea's showcase Ryomyong Street and Pyongyang Sci-Tech Complex are featured together with a trolleybus, tractor and truck, with a phrase "Hail to our glorious country Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
The other stamp promotes free education and treatment in the socialist country.
The new stamps are in accordance with North Korea's toned-down celebration of its foundation day anniversary that featured military parades without Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).
In the past, stamps issued by the Korean Stamp Corporation often featured Pyongyang's newest missiles, while also mentioning nuclear arms.
The changes follow North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's call for a new policy that focuses on the economy and science, after declaring in April an end to the "Byeongjin" policy, which emphasizes the military and the economy together.