North Korea has banned foreign diplomats stationed in the country from taking pictures of military facilities and construction sites, a US Internet news outlet specializing in the North reported Wednesday, citing a North Korean handbook it recently obtained. 

"The manual, called 'Protocol Handbook for the Diplomatic Corps based in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea,' includes regulations to be observed before and during a journey," the Washington-based NK News said. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is the North's official name.

The manual names sites where photography is allowed and where it is banned, it said. 

According to the handbook, the photo ban is applied to "organizations and personnel at the Ministry of People's Armed Forces and the Ministry of People's Security, military bases, munitions factories, military airports, the state's important institutions and factories, enterprises, scientific research institutes, power plants, storage facilities, underground facilities and structures."

Construction sites that have yet to be cleaned up and the scenes of accidents, as well as unpublished publications and creative devices, were also placed on the prohibited list, the manual said. 

In case of photographing locals, diplomats should get a prior permit from them, and respect their opinions and personalities, the manual says.