North Korea Might Soon Welcome Its First-Ever McDonald's
After several weeks of hot-and-cold relations with the U.S., NBC News reports that North Korea may be planning a diplomatic gesture to make up for it: the opening of its very first McDonald's.
The news comes from a recent analysis from the CIA. According to the report, the totalitarian state has no intention of giving up its nuclear weapons, despite recent statements President Trump made to the contrary. Something North Korea reportedly is considering, though, is welcoming an American burger franchise in its capital city of Pyongyang.
North Korean officials said something to that effect at the North and South Korean summit in April, stating that the country encouraged investments from the United States, citing McDonald’s and President Trump-affiliated companies as specific examples.
Trump, of course, hasn't made his affinity for fast food a secret. He even once floated the idea of discussing nuclear weapons with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un over hamburgers. But after the North Korea summit originally planned for June fell apart, it will likely take more than Big Macs for North Korea to win over the U.S.
There are currently no Western chains in North Korea, but that doesn't mean the country doesn't have chain restaurants of its own. Okryugwan, which opened its first restaurant in Pyongyang in 1960, at one point had locations in Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, Mongolia, Russia, Cambodia, and the United Arab Emirates.
[h/t NBC News]