North Korea is one of the world’s most secretive places. Ruled by a small handful of families who keep an iron grip on the population, those who live here are isolated from the rest of humanity. Many are not allowed to travel anywhere else.
People line up at a crossing with their bicycles. A cop checks each person as they cross the area, making sure that everyone is adhering to local rules about using transport from one part of the country to another.
The North Korean officials hate when you take this kind of picture. Even when I explain that poverty exists all around the world, in my own country as well, they forbid me from taking pictures of the poor.
When times are hard (as they usually are here), kids can be found working for the farming collectives.
This bizarre image shows a man eating grass in a public park, which guides get 'furious' at if photographed
The most important rule in North Korea is not to take pictures of soldiers.
The North Korean army is said to be one of the most important in the world. But if you travel there, you’ll often see soldiers doing menial tasks like helping farmers.
‘Pyongyang’s subway system is the deepest in the world as it doubles as a bomb shelter. Someone saw me taking this picture and told me to delete it since it included the tunnel.
A waitress serves drinks at one of the few private restaurants in all of North Korea. The watchful eye of the nation’s dictator keeps on her as she does her work providing refreshments for foreign visitors and high ranking local officials.
Workers clean up the streets in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea. Each wears a uniforms and carries identical cleaning equipment that will be used to clean the entire area during the course of the long workday.
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Apartment buildings loom large on the streets of the capital. The well kept streets are devoid of traffic even during the middle of day as economic activity is highly regulated. Many people live in these large apartment complexes where interior spaces are designed to help them find shelter from the often brutal climate changes.
The foreboding monuments of many North Korean cities are a mass of grey shapes. Workers here clean the exterior of the monument so that each corner looks pleasing the eye. Work crews in North Korea are commonly conscripted by the nation’s rulers as a punishment for minor criminal activity or drawn from local schools.
Residents of the state of North Korea are required to show obedience and homage to the nation’s ruling family and, in particular, the present dictator of the state. Here they can be seen bowing to a large statue of Kim Il-Sung that is maintained in the public square in the capital city as others place a wreath and look on.
The shelves of a North Korean grocery store can be seen here along with a line of varied produce. However, the shelves are carefully arranged and the produce, while well kept, is not very plentiful, clearly indicating the legacy of recent foods shortages in the nation.
Life inside North Korea, Kim Jong-un's secretive state.
One of many statues of the ruling leader that can be seen in many parts of the North Korean state. Residents are required to show the statue respect as they pass it each day and are often reprimanded if they do not.
A Korean War veteran and his grandson pay their respects to the leaders of North Korea at the Mansudae Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang.
A large railway station looms in front of the viewer. North Korean railways are available but are often of poor quality and do not cover much of the country.
The interior of an elevator in one of the many housing blocks in North Korea. Dozens have been constructed in recent years.
Two female soldiers have their picture taken by a colleague at Mangyongdae; the birthplace of Kim Il-sung.
The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang was built to commemorate the Korean resistance to Japan from 1925 to 1945
