Anger: This poster led to North Korean officials demanding that the west London salon that produced it should take it down - they have now asked the Foreign Office to intervene

North Korean agents have demanded the Foreign Office intervene in their row with a London hairdresser who used a picture of Kim Jong-un to advertise its 15 per cent 'bad hair' discount.

M&M Hair Academy in South Ealing sparked a diplomatic incident after it lampooned the dictator's unique hairstyle in a poster hung in its shop window.

Owner Mo Nabbach said within 24 hours men in suits from the North Korean embassy two miles away arrived and demanded it was taken down - but he kept it up because 'this is a democracy'.

The regime's staff in London have now written to William
Hague and asked him to take 'necessary action to stop the provocation'
because the poster was 'disrespectful' of their 'Dear Leader'.

'We have received a letter from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's embassy about this issue,' a Foreign Office spokesman told MailOnline.

A Government source added the 'short letter' had also been sent to Scotland Yard, who have already said that no crime has been committed.

Enfield Tory MP David Burrowes, who is on the
parliamentary group on North Korea, told the Evening Standard: 'On the one hand their response is laughable. But
underlying is a more sinister undertone which is played out in North
Korea with people being locked up, killed and denied freedoms.'

Kim Jong-un's hairstyle is the only one approved by the dictator.

Last month all young men were told they should adopt his short back and sides with centre parting – or face severe punishment

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But it emerged yesterday that his officials in London were not prepared to allow his appearance to be joked about and leapt furiously into action.

Mo Nabbach chose the photograph specifically because Kim is a 'celebrity' and below the large image of the tyrant wrote: ‘Bad Hair Day? 15% off all gent cuts through the month of April’.

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Row: The owners of this London salon say their decision to promote an April discount using a picture of Kim Jong-un has led to the manager being put under surveillance by North Korean officials

It
had been in the salon window for only one day before he received a
sinister visit from the North Korean officials, whose embassy is less
than two miles away in a converted semi in Gunnersbury.

They were apparently clutching clipboards and a camera.

Mr Nabbach said: 'I noticed them first outside the shop.

'They came in and asked what the poster was doing in the window and demanded for it to be taken down.

'I
said it was only a poster and we have pictures of celebrities in the
window all the time. They said: "This is no celebrity, it's our dear
leader".

'They asked for
my name and I refused to give it to them, saying "this is not North
Korea, this is England, and you can get out".

Later he told Scotland Yard that he feared for his livelihood in case North Korean officials 'ended up smashing the windows' when he went home.

State headquarters: North Korea's embassy is based inside this semi in Gunnersbury, west London, and officials have asked the Foreign Office intervene in a row with a local barbers

The two men in suits entered the salon at 4.30pm last Friday bearing a clipboard. They confronted Mr Nabbach’s 26-year-old hairdresser son Karim, demanding to know who was responsible for the perceived outrage.

‘The irony is they didn’t even have the Kim Jong-un haircut, they just had a standard side parting,’ said Mr Nabbach, 51.

‘To tell you the truth, it was actually a bit scary. From all the stuff you hear about North Korea, it was worrying. The two guys were wearing suits and they were very serious. It was very threatening. They came in and asked what the poster was doing in the window and demanded for it to be taken down.

'I said it was only a poster and we have pictures of celebrities in the window all the time.

'They said: "This is no celebrity, it's our dear leader".'

- Salon owner Mo Nabbach

‘I said it was only a poster and we have pictures of celebrities in the window all the time.

‘They
said, “We are North Korean officials, do you know this is our leader?”.
They asked for my name. I told them, “This is not North Korea, this is
England, we live in a democracy so I’m afraid you’re going to have to
get out of my salon”.’

The pair left after taking notes and
photographs of the premises. Mr Nabbach went to Ealing police station to
report the matter. Scotland Yard revealed today the North Koreans did the
same.

He initially removed the poster, fearing that either he or the shop could be targeted.

But
following complaints from customers and locals about a ‘breach of
democracy’, the poster was put back up, prompting a further visit at
10am the next day.

A communist official stood outside taking photographs of the salon until Karim chased him off.

Mr Nabbach took the poster down after the men left, but he has replaced it after comments on Facebook saying the request to take it down was a 'breach of democracy'.

Diplomatic incident: Barber Karim Nabbach says his brother Mo was forced to go the police because the rogue state's officials put him under surveillance

Distinctive: North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's hair was declared 'bad' by the Ealing salon, which led to intervention from his agents

Close by: The salon is in South Ealing - just ten minutes from the North Korean embassy in Gunnersbury