SEOUL, South Korea -- You still can't get a hamburger in Pyongyang, but the suspiciously similar "minced beef and bread" is for sale at the North Korean capital's first fast-food restaurant.
The Samtaeseong restaurant opened in the isolated communist country last month in cooperation with a Singaporean company, according to the Tokyo-based Choson Sinbo. The Singaporean company, which the newspaper did not name, provided training to restaurant staff and supplied equipment.
The restaurant's interior appears to be styled after fast-food joints the world over, but the menu is careful not to call its signature fare a hamburger -- lest it give the impression North Koreans had embraced the American icon.
The restaurant is unlikely to be frequented by ordinary people in North Korea, which is one of the world's poorest countries and experiences chronic food shortages.
