North Korea pulls anti-U.S. souvenirs from gift shops: Report

North Korea pulled anti-U.S. souvenirs off the shelves in tourist shops, according to reports Wednesday from inside the reclusive communist country.

The anti-U.S. souvenirs were a staple of North Korean gift shops and reflected the authoritarian regime’s ingrained hostility toward America.

The removal of the items — postcards, posters and stamps — became evident as President Trump and North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un met in Singapore and committed to improving relations and denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

Several gift shops, including one at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and stamp shops in Pyongyang and Kaesong, have apparently removed the anti-American keepsakes, reported South Korea-based news agency NK News.

The Washington Times has not independently verified the report.

Rowan Beard, a tour manager for Young Pioneer Tours, told the news outlet that shops in major tourist destination apparently were instructed to remove the souvenirs sometime after late May, when anti-U.S. posters were last seen on display.

Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours that takes groups into the DMZ, said that tour group at Panmunjom last week and Wednesday “reported the absence of anti-American propaganda material.”

He said the anti-American souvenirs were “replaced by items more focused on positive themes such as reunification rather than the often violent anti-U.S. images” common in the past, according to the report.