North Korea sets up education centre to display 'history of aggression' by US and Japan

North Korea has increased efforts to educate their citizens about the "history of aggression" displayed by the US and Japan against the country. A new facility was built in Pyongyang in June this year, with Kyodo News becoming the first foreign media publication to see the establishment on 12 August.

According to Japan Today, the National House of Class Education features roughly 1,700 photos and thousands of other items showing the "aggressive nature" of Japan and the US. The three-story building covers a total floor space of almost 4,000m sq and is said to be the first organisation in Pyongyang to focus on anti-Japanese education.

Media reports have suggested that the first floor of the building is dedicated to anti-US propaganda, while the second floor is dedicated to anti-Japanese propaganda. The facility has been built to target young Koreans who are too young to remember the Korean War or Japan's colonisation of Korea.

Kim Hyong Chol, head of the facility, said: "If we forget the history of aggression, it can be repeated. We need to teach a new generation not to forget it."

According to state-run North Korean media, the National House of Class Education is aimed at educating and informing North Koreans about who their enemies are. Japan Today suggested that this was being done in order to convince the North's citizens to take revenge on those who had harmed their ancestors.

North Korea's ties with Japan and the US have been declining rapidly in recent months. With Japan, tensions were on the rise after North Korea test-fired a ballistic missile in early August that landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone waters.

However, relations with the US have been much worse. On 13 August, North Korea threatened to launch a nuclear strike against them, insisting that the US was attempting to invade their country.

Tensions have been rapidly increasing between the two countries since the US blacklisted the North's dictator Kim Jong Un for human rights violations, prompting North Korea to implement "wartime law" in accordance with US correspondence.