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The practise of 'twinning' towns to encourage tourism and trade between different cultures has been very successful ever since it started in the aftermath of World War 2.

But one Dublin suburb has chosen a pretty unusual place to build ties with.

The Finglas Village Renewal Partnership has written to officials in North Korea asking if anywhere in the country would like to 'twin' with them.

Sean Mooney, a representative from the partnership, said he hasn't heard anything back from the totalitarian state so far.

He told Kathryn Thomas on the Ray D'Arcy Show today: "At this stage of the game I don’t think they will [reply], but that’s why I got in touch with yourselves, to see if I can push it a little bit further."

He defended the questionable decision, saying it would make a name for the northside village and be "tame" in comparison to its previous pairing with a town in Massachusetts.

"It would put Finglas on the map in a positive light and that's what we need and that's what we want.

"It would be very, very interesting and away from the ordinary, to put it lightly."

As regards North Korea's abysmal human rights record, Mooney said Finglas should "give them a chance".

"We see what we're shown, who's to say that that's what it is? I really don't know.

"Give them a chance, see will they accept and we'll go from there."

“As I say, Beijing is twinned with major cities all over the world and their human rights [record is] very, very similar.”