North Korea a model for public health!

The Herald reports:

North Korea has reportedly banned gatherings that involve drinking alcohol and singing.

The new measures are designed to stifle the impact of crippling international sanctions over the hermit kingdom’s ongoing missile tests.

The apparent ban on fun was reported by South Korea’s National Intelligence Bureau during a closed-door briefing to parliamentarians, according to Daily Telegraph.

“[Pyongyang] has devised a system whereby party organs report people’s economic hardships on a daily basis, and it has banned any gatherings related to drinking, singing and other entertainment,” news agency Yonhap reported the NIS as saying.

The crackdown follows the surprise cancellation of the popular Pyongyang Beer Festival in July, during a period of sustained drought.

North Korean public health officials must be very pleased.