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The North Korean flag has been raised outside a Teesside home - and nobody has a clue why.

The red and blue flag of the secretive state has been hoisted 20ft above a house in Ingleby Barwick.

Locals jokingly claim it could be anything from a nuclear test site to dictator Kim Jong Un’s holiday home.

But not even North Korean diplomats could explain to The Gazette why it was flying just off Sober Hall Avenue.

And neighbours are also scratching their heads as to why the flag - seen by some as a symbol of oppression - is being flown yards from a big red bouncy castle.

“I have absolutely no idea why it is there,” said a neighbour who lives in sight of the property.

“The flag’s been up for a couple of weeks ever since someone took over the property but I’ve not seen anyone really there.

“I think it is quite funny, and I laugh because I can now use it to show me how to get home!”

But others were less impressed.

“It’s a bit odd if you ask me,” said another local.

Neighbours claims a St George Cross previously occupied the flag pole before the old occupant moved out.

But Facebook users in Ingleby Barwick are just as puzzled by what has replaced it.

One joked it was possibly a “secret launch base” for the for their nuclear weapons programme, amid growing tensions between Pyongyang and the West.

Others speculated it may have something to do with Middlesbrough’s brief love affair with the North Korean national football side, who beat Italy in the 1966 World Cup at Ayresome Park.

The Gazette contacted North Korea’s London embassy for answers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, diplomats didn’t say much.

“We don’t have any people living in Middlesbrough,” said an official.

“Why would it be strange anyway for our flag to be up?”

The Gazette attempted to contact the occupant, but there was no answer.

Do you know why the flag is up? Is it yours? Call (01642) 245217.