GETTY North Korean women have been marching on the anniversary of the Korean war

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Holding their fists high in a salute reminiscent of Nazi Germany, the women called for “class education” to be intensified to spread the message of the US being the “principal enemy” of North Korea. Participants chanted slogans based on the warped history of the Korean War taught in local schools, where they are also constantly told that Koreans “can never trust the American imperialists”. The hermit kingdom has a history of indoctrinating its female citizens - in a scheme called “the seed bearing programme” high-level visitors to Pyongyang would be sent an attractive consort, only to find out several months later that they have a child in North Korea.

The Traffic Girls Of North Korea Wed, June 14, 2017 Officially known as traffic security officers, the ladies are chosen for their looks. They must leave the role if they marry, and have a finite shelf-life, with compulsory retirement at just 26. The officers are unique to Pyongyang, which North Korean authorities are always keen to present in the best possible light despite their nuclear-armed country's impoverished status, and ensure a steady supply of photogenic young women who are the favourite subject of visiting tourists Play slideshow 1 of 17

Politicians would then be blackmailed to pass legislation favouring North Korea or to increase aid. Journalists would be asked to write positive stories and businessmen urged to set up joint ventures with local companies. Jang Jin–sung, a former elite North Korean official, said: “A secondary benefit to North Korea is that the children are brought up fiercely loyal to the regime and, with looks that are a combination of cultures, can be infiltrated into other countries as agents.” The accusations, published in government mouthpiece Rodong Sinmum, come at an especially fraught period following the death of US student Otto Warmbier, who was returned to his native country in a coma having been sentenced to 15 years of hard labour by Kim Jong-un.

In South Korea, the government has marked the war's anniversary in a more peaceful manner – by urging the North to suspend the development of nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon told war veterans and government officials at a ceremony in the capital, Seoul: “The North continues provocative military actions such as launching a ballistic missile.” The US and South Korea are nervous that the 67th anniversary of the war will be marked by a sixth nuclear test in defiance of UN Security Council resolutions.

GETTY The women marched and chanted on the anniversary of the Korean war

GETTY Men also took part in marches on the anniversary of the Korean war