North Korean gardeners are being sent to labour camps for failing to make sure thousands of the red “Kimjongilia” begonias - a flower named after Kim Jong-il - are in bloom for the dead dictator’s birthday, writes dailymail.co.uk.

The streets of North Korea’s cities are traditionally lined with the flowers ahead of the late Kim Jong-il’s birthday on February 16, an occasion known as the “Day of the Shining Star”.

But this year, gardeners have struggled to get a steady supply of firewood to get the correct temperature and humidity in the greenhouses where the Kimjongilia flowers are grown, reported Daily NK News.

They have been accused of neglecting the plants, with some gardeners being sentenced to six months in labour camps for failing to get the flowers ready in time for the birthday of Kim Jong-il, who died aged 69 in 2011.