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North Korea may be the last Stalinist state on the planet. The government's obsession with military hardware has left the economy in shambles and the country is suffering chronic shortages of fuel, electricity and raw materials. But when push comes to shove, none of that really matters, because North Korea has a hidden unicorn lair. Who else can make that claim?

 

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reveals that archeologists from the History Institute of the DPRK Academy of Social Sciences have discovered a secret hideaway that was the burial site of the unicorn ridden by King Tongmyeong, the founding father of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo (37 B.C.-668 A.D.).

 

According to legend, Tongmyeong was born from an egg impregnated by sunlight — so of course he commuted by unicorn.

 

The news agency seems partial to magical news. Past reports have noted that deceased leader Kim Jong Il was born under a double rainbow, he once stopped a blizzard with his bare hands, and — even more miraculously — he once shot 11 holes-in-one in a single golf outing, even though he was apparently born from human parents, rather than an egg and sunbeams like the legendary founding father.

Sung-Yoon Lee, professor of Korean Studies at Tufts, tells the "Today" show, “The intent behind this is to try to bolster up the credentials of the young leader who is still in his 20s. North Korea likes to make the claim that heroic blood runs in the family.”

 

See more on the lair in the video below:

 

 

 

Related unicorn story on MNN: Elusive 'Asian unicorn' faces extinction 20 years after discovery