North Korean men are only allowed 15 different haircuts

North Koreans have a choice of 15 state-approved haircuts, a journalist who has been given access to the country has claimed.

Illustrated guides have appeared in hair salons in the capital Pyongyang showing haircuts deemed acceptable.

Each is similar in style, with long hair definitely off the menu — but Kim Jong-un’s distinctive ‘do is no where to be seen.

Women, who are also afforded 15 different styles, according to images, have a little more choice.

In 2013, images of a haircut guide in North Korea circulated on the internet. The new styles, although similar, appear to be an update of these looks.

Dying your hair is apparently banned.

In a huge parade last week, North Korea displayed six submarine-launched ballistic missiles, days after the US moved a warship to the Korean Peninsula.

However many of the journalists who were invited to witness North Korea’s most important national holiday, known as the “Day of the Sun”, have said life continues as normal in Pyongyang.

Finnish journalist Mika Mäkeläinen, who was in the capital, captured pictures of the approved styles on a visit to the barbers.

His Twitter feed provides an insight into a totalitarian country that has isolated itself from the rest of the world. It remains one of the few countries of the world that remains an unknown.

Ruled by the Kim family since its formation in 1948, its nuclear ambitions have grown in recent years, prompting international condemnation.

Following the country’s latest, and failed, missile launch, foreign secretary Boris Johnson tweeted: “I strongly condemn the latest North Korean missile launch. They must stop these belligerent acts and comply with @UN resolutions.”

US Vice-President Mike Pence has said his country’s “era of strategic patience” with North Korea is over.