North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has banned skinny jeans, mullets and certain body piercings as symbols of a “capitalistic lifestyle”, according to reports.

It follows a state-run newspaper warning that more needs to be done to stop “capitalistic culture” from taking over the country, a South Korean broadcaster Yonhap news agency said.

Rodong Sinmum, the official newspaper of the North Korean government published an article expressing concern about young North Koreans increasingly embracing western fashion trends.

“We must be wary of even the slightest sign of the capitalist lifestyle and fight to get rid of them,” the article said. The new fashion rules are part of the regime’s crackdown on “anti-socialist behaviour”.

The communist regime has reportedly outlawed all but 15 “non-socialist” haircuts and has instead issued an order on “proper” hairstyles, the newspaper said.

As well as mullets, spiky and dyed hair are no longer authorised according to documents published by the Socialist Patriotic Youth League and seen by Rodong Sinmum. Members of the state-run youth organisation often act as the nation’s “fashion police” and their duties include stopping people from wearing clothes which look too “foreign”.

Skinny jeans, nose and lip piercings as well as branded T-shirts are also forbidden, according to Metro.
— Guardian