NORTH Korea has been a little quiet lately, and now we know why.

The country is hosting its first ever beer festival, and, if you don’t mind patriotic songs blaring at you from giant TV screens, it actually sounds pretty awesome.

The event is showcasing a local ale from the government’s Taedonggang brewery, acquired by Kim Jong-il in 2000. With an alcohol content of five per cent, guests say it’s sweet with a bitter aftertaste — and they’re describing it as “world class”.

Well, maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. But video from inside the rogue state’s capital shows guests having such a good time that one patron actually thanked the leadership for letting him drink to his heart’s content.

There are seven beers on tap, served by chipper waitresses in blue and white uniforms: Beer 1, Beer 2, Beer 3, Beer 4, Beer 5, Beer 6, and — you guessed it — Beer 7.

While the names might leave something to be desired, they’re being served with copious amounts of crowd-pleasing chicken, pretzels and edamame beans under the lights of the Taedong River Pier in central Pyongyang.

More than 800 people reportedly attended the nationalistic opening ceremony, in which the director of North Korea’s General Bureau of Public Service told guests the event symbolised “the superiority and vitality” of the socialist leadership, which is “all about the people”.

And while it may sound a little tough to swallow, it was a hit — not just with the locals, but also with the hundreds of curious, beer-swilling tourists who have attended the event so far.

“It’s a testament to the universal power of a couple of cold beers on a warm evening to make people get along with each other,” tour operator Simon Cockerell told NK News.

North Korea has always been a dark horse, but no-one could have predicted they’d pull off such a good event. The festival is so popular they’re already planning the next one, which will take place at the national air show in September.

But the bright smiles and happy faces are in stark contrast to the pressure on the capital.

This year, United Nations Security Council has imposed its toughest-ever sanctions against Pyongyang following a series of nuclear tests and long-range rocket launches, and there’s no sign of tensions easing.

The festival actually kicked off on the same day the country’s leadership threatened to launch a nuclear strike against the United States for “attempting to invade” their country. Washington responded by deploying stealth bombers to their strategic Pacific base at Guam.

But as usual, nothing seems to intimidate Kim Jong-un or his loyal followers.

A newsreader at state-run TV station KCTV told viewers: “The Pyongyang Taedonggang beer festival shows our people’s lives filled with happiness and optimism, building up a people’s paradise and a highly civilised socialist country, while smashing the US and its followers’ heinous moves to isolate and stifle the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”