Something new: North Korean tourism app shows hermit nation's delights

Breaking new ground in the app store is hard work these days. It already has several baby-cry translators and fake-fart generators (yes, really). But North Korea Travel is gunning to be the world's one and only cross-platform Democratic People's Republic of Korea travel app, giving you all the information you need to have a blast in one of the world's most oppressive countries.

The app includes a GPS map, a rather bland phrasebook ("Going on a date with a North Korean will not happen," it warns) and advice on where to eat and shop (although hairdresser recommendations are omitted so you won't be able to get the ultimate souvenir - a Kim Jong-un cut).

There are more advanced features, too: you can build an itinerary based on your interests, then source and com-pare quotes from leading North Korea tour providers.

The app was created by British-based Uniquely Travel, which, keeping North Korea's internet unreliability in mind, has made the app fully functional offline.

The country receives only about 6,000 Western visitors a year and there's been a spate of arrests of foreign tourists (including a Hong Kong-based expat last month), so some might question the developer's business plan.

But then again, maybe not. Did you know the nation has an amusement park, a circus and two coffee shops, not to mention 14 factories open to tourists (we suggest the Hungnam Fertiliser plant)?