Not a Bomb? North Korean Guard’s First Time Vaping Sparks Surprise (Photos)

Reported on December 12, 2016, North Korea has long maintained strict control over both its citizens and soldiers, and works hard through various channels to preserve its image. Tourists are also not allowed to take photos freely. However, a British traveler recently managed to capture a humorous moment of a North Korean border railway guard trying an e-cigarette.

According to the Daily Mail, 34-year-old British tourist Del Dinsdale recently released some photos he secretly took during his trip to North Korea, including amusing shots of a guard from the North Korean border railway department trying an e-cigarette for the first time, with a look of curiosity on his face.

Del said that North Korean officials searched his belongings when he entered the country and found the e-cigarette in his backpack. At first, they thought it was a bomb and were preparing to arrest him. After Del spent some time explaining that it was an e-cigarette, one of the guards became very curious and asked to try it.

It is reported that North Korea strictly prohibits foreign tourists from photographing local officials, especially when they are in a relaxed state. However, after taking a puff from the vape, the guard stretched contentedly and even allowed Del to take his photo.

Afterward, the guard showed the e-cigarette to his colleagues and eagerly asked Del whether he could give it to him. Del explained that the liquid used in the device could not be purchased in North Korea, so the guard reluctantly returned it to him and gave him a few locally made North Korean cigarettes instead.

During the trip, Del encountered other guards who found the photos while checking his phone and demanded that he delete them. After returning home, Del recovered the images from the phone’s “Recently Deleted” folder and made them public. The photo shows Del posing with a North Korean policewoman.