North Korea closes karaoke bars, internet cafés

North Korea has ordered the closure of karaoke bars and intent cafés, a South Korean civic group said today, in an apparent attempt to stem outside influences inside the isolated communist country.

Separately, the North’s Ministry of People’s Security conducted house-to-house overnight inspections in areas near the border with China earlier this month to search for mobile phones and illegal videos or CDs, the Good Friends aid agency said in a newsletter.