Trowbridge's former Ushers brewery has been spotted deep inside the heart of North Korea, in satellite images of one of the world’s most secretive countries.
The state has been in the world spotlight this month following the death of its “Supreme Leader”, Kim Jong-il, on December 17.
The brewery, which has been renamed Taedongang, was spotted alongside photographs of nuclear power plants, mass graves, labour camps and a huge farm for ostrich.
The images, some of which have not been publicly released, belong to IHS Jane’s in California, a defence and security company which uses them to get a picture of the reality inside one of the world’s most isolated and repressive regimes.
In 2000, Ushers was sold to the totalitarian state after dictator Kim Jong-il decided he wanted a brewery for his country, which was recovering from a devastating famine.
Ushers was bought by brewing company Thomas Hardy Brewing and Packaging, then sold to the North Koreans through a German agent. It was dismantled and shipped thousands of miles, before being reconstructed outside the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Within 18 months of the sale, it was again producing beer.
The former site of Ushers Brewery in Trowbridge is now occupied by flats. You can see the satellite picture of Ushers and other images by visiting the website at http://t.co/abUdfMuM
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