The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) on Saturday set its clocks back 30 minutes, and switched to its own time zone, reported the state-run Korean Central News Agency of the country. 

The transition to the new time was celebrated with ringing of the bells in establishments, and signals and whistles—in plants and vehicles, reported the Gazeta.ru Russian news site.

As reported earlier, the North Korean government had announced that it will create its own time zone, the “Pyongyang time.”

Accordingly, the country set its clocks 30 minutes behind those of South Korea and Japan, on Saturday August 15.

On that date, North Korea celebrates the 70th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula’s liberation from the Japanese occupation, reported Gazeta.ru.

The previous time on the peninsula—nine hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time—was set by Japan.

It is noted that, with this change of time zone, North Korea returns to the time zone it had before the Japanese rule.