North Korea will push back its time by 30 minutes beginning next Saturday to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea's liberation.
 
North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency said Friday that the Supreme People's Assembly has decided to institute Pyongyang Standard Time.
 
The North has used the same time zone as South Korea and Japan, which is 135 degrees east longitude or nine hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time, or UTC.
 
Pyongyang Standard Time will be set at 127 degrees 30 minutes east longitude, which passes through the center of the Korean Peninsula, or eight-point-five hours ahead of UTC.
 
The report said changing the standard time signifies clearing away the vestiges of Japanese imperialism.