Tourist's pics capture a different side of Pyongyang - CNN.com Tourist's pics capture a different side of Pyongyang By CNN Staff Updated 9:04 AM ET, Wed March 16, 2016 Chat with us in Facebook Messenger. Find out what's happening in the world as it unfolds. JUST WATCHED Photographer smuggles photos out of North Korea 04:23 (CNN) One of the biggest complaints among tourists visiting North Korea is their inability to get out and explore. Tourism is highly restricted, so booking a guided tour with one of the dozen or so companies endorsed by the state-run Korea International Travel Company is the only way in -- even for those flying solo. Outside the hotel, a guide accompanies visitors at all times and every tour is carefully choreographed. There are strict guidelines in place dictating what tourists can and cannot do in North Korea -- and that includes photography. London-based tourist and amateur photographer, Michal Huniewicz, discovered just that while on a recent visit to the reclusive country. Read More Though many of his photos were acceptable, he admits others were taken against the wishes of his minders.

MORE: See inside an ancient North Korean passenger plane 'Nothing controversial' The photographs show different sides of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and pose a stark contrast to the tightly controlled image the government attempts to project both within and outside the border. "All of the pictures I took are North Korea seen through my eyes," Huniewicz tells CNN. On smuggling -- and publishing -- the photos, Huniewicz says he's "a little bit concerned" on whether that might mean trouble for the government minders. "I don't really know whether they're [under] any real threat, because there's nothing highly controversial in those pictures," he adds. Click on the below gallery below to see some of his North Korea snapshots. Photos: Unseen in Pyongyang "Like a stage" – London-based amateur photographer Michal Huniewicz recently visited North Korea as a tourist. He snapped dozens of images during his trip -- some permitted, others not. Huniewicz took this photo from the window of a train as he pulled into Pyongyang from Dandong. "It looked like something you would see in a theater," he says.

"It's a bit too perfect." Hide Caption 1 of 14 Photos: Unseen in Pyongyang Candid moments – Huniewicz says this is just one of two photos in which he was able to capture a candid smile from local residents. Hide Caption 2 of 14 Photos: Unseen in Pyongyang Pyongyang Metro – North Koreans head down to the Pyongyang Metro. It's 100 meters underground thus riding the escalator down to the station takes a couple of minutes. Hide Caption 3 of 14 Photos: Unseen in Pyongyang Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum – "Who's American here?" the museum guide asks. "Grab the flowers, go to the monument, bow, and lay the flowers there." Huniewicz says North Koreans told him they single-handedly defeated the U.S. in the Korean War. Hide Caption 4 of 14 Photos: Unseen in Pyongyang Wish you were here – A woman sells postcards, stamps and posters, many featuring themes focused on defeating the U.S. and destroying the White House. Huniewicz says he did sent one such postcard from North Korea to the U.S. and it arrived with no problems.

Hide Caption 5 of 14 Photos: Unseen in Pyongyang Speeding past slums? – These settlements, captured from a speeding van, appear to be slums outside of Pyongyang, according to Huniewicz. He speculates that the tourist transport vans slow down when passing what the authorities are proud of showing and speed past less desirable sights. Hide Caption 6 of 14 Photos: Unseen in Pyongyang A helping hand – This may look like an ordinary scene in any country, Huniewicz explains, but in North Korea, he feels it challenges a local song about no mother's love being greater than that of the Communist Party. Hide Caption N. Korea draws visitors seeking peek at reclusive regime N. Korea draws visitors seeking peek at reclusive regime The repressive, backward Asian nation gets visitors, but of a particular sort. Post to Facebook N. Korea draws visitors seeking peek at reclusive regime The repressive, backward Asian nation gets visitors, but of a particular sort. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: CancelSend A link has been sent to your friend's email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

38 To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs N. Korea draws visitors seeking peek at reclusive regime Calum MacLeod , USA TODAY Published 5:12 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2014 | Updated 11:36 a.m. ET Jan. 21, 2014 The repressive, backward Asian nation gets visitors, but of a particular sort. NYU student Sophia Sokmensuer, left, 18, poses with a North Korean tour guide in the capital Pyongyang this January. The new apartment buildings behind them are a "great gift" built "by the marshal for his people," Sokmensuer was told. The marshal refers to North Korea’s young dictator Kim Jong Un.

(Photo: Hakan Sokmensuer) Dennis Rodman's trips to North Korea have stirred interest in the country In this backward nation, the Cold War is alive and well Tourists can now get Internet access -- for a price 488 CONNECT TWEET 2 LINKEDIN 38 COMMENTEMAILMORE BEIJING -- On their last morning in Pyongyang, father and daughter Hakan and Sophia Sokmensuer kept counting down the hours -- until they were out safely. The U.S. tourists had relished their visit to North Korea's time-warp capital, where the Cold War isn't over, and enjoyed Dennis Rodman's controversial, high-profile basketball game there Jan. 8. But fear rises fast inside the isolated, highly repressive state, where an elderly American visitor was taken from his airplane seat last October, then detained for a month. Squeezed onto the tarmac bus at Pyongyang airport, the Sokmensuers saw an official run out from the terminal, arms waving. "The doors opened and he pointed towards me," recalls Hakan. The problem? The passenger beside him had not returned his hotel key. After multiple apologies for leaving it in his room, the official relented and let the bus go.

"I gulped because I knew I had four room keys in my pocket," says Sokmensuer, 55, a retired executive from Sarasota, Fla. "It was fortunately the only mini-heart attack of the journey." STORY: Kenneth Bae appeals to U.S. for N. Korea release A trip to North Korea is not for the fainthearted, yet a small but rising number of intrepid Americans choose to spend their dollars and vacations visiting, and revisiting, a country whose regime has threatened nuclear strikes against the USA and South Korea. It's not exactly paradise. Famines are common. Labor camps hold 200,000 North Koreans, including whole families, in horrid conditions for crimes such as speaking one's mind. Visitors are sometimes grabbed at will without charge, such as jailed missionary Kenneth Bae, a U.S. citizen. North Korea -- always in the news, usually for the wrong reasons -- is surprisingly easy to visit. But why would you want to? For some U.S. travelers, North Korea's isolation and belligerence translate into a unique, must-see destination.

American tourists are often keen to see for themselves what lies behind a regime ruled remorselessly for six decades by three members of the same family, one that regularly vows to turn enemy nations into a "sea of fire." Last Slide Next Slide Some go for time travel, to see a Stalinist state where the Cold War between the communists and Yankees has never ended. Some hope to show North Koreans that Americans are not all out to get them, and some just want to see if the place is really as awful as it is portrayed. Adventurous, worldly and educated people are the norm for clients, says Andrea Lee, CEO of N.J.-based Uri Tours, an agency specializing in North Korea. "It takes," says Lee, "a certain kind of traveler to be interested in the first place." BRING THICK SKIN -- AND SNACKS Those who make the trek are advised to pack a thick skin to combat heavy doses of propaganda and anti-American rhetoric; bring snacks to complement the unusual food; and prepare for hard beds in adequate though spartan hotels. But the rewards for crossing this final frontier are considerable, say several recent visitors, including the Sokmensuers.

Only heavily chaperoned group travel is possible, and the personality cult of the ruling Kim family dominates every itinerary. But your trip should be safe and the welcome friendly, these visitors say. You won't puncture the facade that shields the grim reality of ordinary life, yet your presence alone may achieve domestic impact: countering the image of "evil" Americans fostered by decades of state propaganda, say tour group officials. The U.S. State Department advises against travel to North Korea, but Americans can and do visit, says Simon Cockerell, managing director of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, the best-established operator of trips to North Korea. While there aren't that many of them, U.S. citizens have quickly become the single largest category of Western visitors since most travel restrictions on Americans were lifted in 2010. At least one quarter of North Korea's estimated 5,000 to 6,000 Western tourists in 2013 were from the USA, says Cockerell. For North Korean tour guides, who must accompany and control visitors at almost all times, "Americans are dream tourists. They're so polite, bring lots of snacks and tip very well," he says. In return, U.S.

visitors are often surprised by their hosts, says Cockerell, a veteran of 130 trips in the past 12 years. "North Koreans are not the Taliban," he says. "It's a serious place, but fun is not that elusive." Increasingly, Americans make return trips. One who has is Austin English, a computer programmer from Texas, who leaped onto Koryo's "Rodman Tour" this month, four years after his first visit. "People think everyone there is an automaton," says English, who recalls one "crazy" guide who proved an enjoyable drinking companion, while another tourist flirted with a female tour guide and gave her a piggyback ride down a mountain. "Going to North Korea is stepping into a whole new world," says English, 27. Expect a "Big Brother," 1984 feeling that people may be listening and you must be careful taking photos," he says, although "it seemed a lot less antagonistic to foreigners" than it did in 2010.

'WHAT'S THE WEATHER LIKE IN CALIFORNIA?' Former NBA rebounding machine Rodman's four trips in the past year and his bromance with Kim Jong Un, the North's third-generation dictator, have spurred U.S. interest, says Andrea Lee. "It can be a heavy trip, with a lot to digest, and some people aren't ready for it," she says. But others form a strong bond with their guides and wish the tours lasted longer. (Photo: KCNA via AFP/Getty Images) "North Koreans say, 'We hate American policy, we don't hate American people,'" Lee says. At the dramatic war museum in Pyongyang, one of Lee's groups heard the familiar rhetoric about American "imperialist bastards," whom the North blames for the 1950-53 Korean War, she says. "Then the guide asked, 'What's the weather like in California? What do people do for fun there?'" San Francisco law student Amanda Champagne, 24, said she was fascinated on one of her four Koryo trips to watch young schoolgirls at the Mangyongdae Children's Palace perform a dance using their raincoats and umbrellas to keep soldiers' uniforms dry.

Children are often used to reinforce the policies and personality cult of the ruling Kim family, and Pyongyang follows a "military first" policy to keep the population ever-vigilant against a U.S. invasion that propaganda says is certain to come. "It's the furthest place from America you can go, it's so unique, there's no comparison," she explains. "It's like going back in time." NO CREDIT CARDS, BUT SOME INTERNET Visiting North Korea has long meant going offline and off-grid, as foreign tourists had to surrender cellphones on arrival and recover them on departure. At Pyongyang Sunan International Airport, you can now buy 3G SIM cards for international calls with your own phone. Just bring enough cash to this ATM-less land, where credit cards are not accepted. And don't expect to call any locals -- North Koreans use a different network you can't access, and those who can go online reach only a government-controlled Intranet. Pyongyang hotels offer limited e-mail service, but tourists can reach the wider Internet, expensively, through those SIM cards. On the streets of the showpiece, Soviet-style capital, repeat visitors spy other changes. Flattened by U.S.

bombers during the Korean War, Pyongyang was rebuilt as an ideological theme park dedicated to the Kim dynasty. Today, more cars cruise formerly empty boulevards and people's clothing appears less drab and uniform than in the past, English says. A striking new apartment building, unusual in a city of functional housing and monumentalist concrete, resembled something that could be in Miami Beach, says Hakan Sokmensuer, who first visited in 2009. His guide explained it was a "great gift" for his people from the "Marshal," young dictator Kim Jong Un. Impressive, agreed Sokmensuer, but "not at all indicative of the plight or living conditions of easily the other 99.9%" of North Koreans, he says. His daughter Sophia, a student at New York University, was bowled over by the personality cult that venerates Kim as well as his father and grandfather, whose pictures appear everywhere, including in pins on every citizen's chest. At the Rodman game, the capacity crowd stood, clapped and roared for minutes when Kim appeared. "Wow, I am actually in a dictatorship, this is what it's like," says Sokmensuer, 18.

"It's not like it's a fun trip, but it is a fascinating trip." ROMANCE BLOOMS IN PYONGYANG A visit can be life-changing, too. Salt Lake City police officer Jeff Bedard enjoyed his 2012 trip so much he proposed to his tour guide. And he returned to Pyongyang for an engagement party last year. "You're in a place like no other on Earth," says Bedard, 39, who was drawn to explore a country so removed from the world yet regularly featured in global headlines. Some visitors struggle to survive even four days of North Korea's propaganda-drenched tourism. But Bedard bravely chose a 17-day tour, one of the longest possible. "It gave me a greater appreciation for where I live, and the freedoms I maybe became desensitized to," he says. All visitors are required to bow before giant statues of founding father Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il. "It's like taking your shoes off when you enter someone's home, it's a sign of respect, that's what they expect," he says.

"I know where my loyalties lie." (Photo: Via Jeff Bedard) Like many others, Bedard most cherished the limited interaction with local people, such as joking over digital camera pictures with passengers on the Pyongyang metro, another monument to the Kim family. He's not marrying a North Korean, though, but British citizen Hannah Barraclough, tour manager of Koryo Tours. Marriages between North Koreans and foreigners remain exceedingly rare. TOURISM MAY IMPROVE RELATIONS "You'll put me in my grave early," was the shocked reaction of Austin English's grandmother when he revealed his vacation destination. Many U.S. tourists report pressure from family and colleagues who fear for their safety. They're also keen to justify their actions after widespread criticism of Rodman's unofficial "basketball diplomacy". (Photo: Austin English) All visitors have to wrestle with the ethics of a North Korea trip, says Uri Tours' Lee. "Our belief is that there is value to tourism, and contact with local people," she says.

"The more Westerners come, particularly Americans, the better relations will get." In any event, tourist revenue "doesn't prop up the North Korean government, as not many tourists go there," says Koryo's Cockerell. Raised on a relentless diet of anti-American films, North Koreans have an even more negative view of Americans than Americans do of North Koreans, he says. He hopes human contact will make a difference over time and reduce potentially dangerous misunderstandings. The impact can be two-way, as visitors too change in unexpected ways. "I think I'm addicted to kimchi," says police officer Bedard of Korea's favorite pickled vegetable dish, which he now tracks down in Salt Lake City. "I couldn't even smell it before!" 488 CONNECT TWEET 2 LINKEDIN 38 COMMENTEMAILMORE Read or Share this story: NEVER MISS OUT The Short List Let us bring the headlines to you every night. Stay current and catch up on the biggest stories of the day. Will China Colonize North Korea? - The Daily Beast Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast Hungry Dragon Will China Colonize North Korea? Beijing and Seoul are finding a lot of common interests.

But will that be enough to stabilize the peninsula if China moves in on Pyongyang? Gordon G. Chang 10.29.15 5:00 AM ET At the beginning of last week, Seoul launched a new round of China diplomacy to encourage Beijing to play a “ constructive role ” in denuclearizing North Korea. Optimally this marks a new era of cooperation between Seoul and Beijing, but it could also be part of a process leading to China’s colonization of the North. The move follows President Park Geun-hye’s controversial trip to the Chinese capital in early September to participate in the military parade marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Washington, worried that South Korea was making itself a Chinese satellite, had tried to discourage her from attending the event. Short of extraordinary measures, there is little the U.S. can do about Park’s increasingly visible tilt to China. Her mission is to seek the peaceful reunification of the two Koreas—her so-called Dresden Initiative announced in March of last year—and she has moved to enlist the Chinese by charming them into cooperation, seeking to engage them at every opportunity. Park’s efforts to woo China look like they are paying off.

Seoul, not Pyongyang, is Beijing’s friend these days on the Korean Peninsula. It is telling that Xi Jinping traveled to Seoul in July 2014, the first time a leader of the People’s Republic visited the South before going to the North. And in fact, he has yet to visit Pyongyang, the capital of his country’s only formal military ally, in his position as China’s president. Despite all the smiles, the fear in Seoul is that China will frustrate Park’s vision of a unified Korean nation by sending its army south and either leaving behind a puppet regime or even colonizing North Korea. The Koreans know what it is like to be colonized. The Japanese first invaded and then obliterated their nation, making it a protectorate in 1905 and formally annexing it five years later. The Allies ejected Japan from Korea but temporarily divided the peninsula at the end of World War II. The division into a Soviet-dominated state, now the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and an American-supported one, the Republic of Korea, hardened into the two-state system that exists today. Every South Korean leader has promoted reunification, but beginning in the early 1990s the commitment became hollow.

The population of the South, watching the troubled combination of East and West Germany, recoiled at the cost of absorbing their destitute cousins across the Demilitarized Zone. Park, to her credit, is serious about putting her country back together again. Two obstacles, however, stand in her way. First, Kim Jong Un, the ruler in Pyongyang, thinks he is the legitimate ruler of all Korea. Yet his position may not count for much: Judging from the especially chaotic and bloody leadership transition from his father, collapse of the DPRK, as Kim calls his miserable state, could occur any day. The second obstacle is the People’s Republic of China. For centuries, the Chinese have viewed the Koreans as vassals, and they have ruled the northern part of the peninsula, either directly as part of China or through tributary relationships. The border between China and Korea has moved hundreds of miles in both directions over time, and both the Chinese and the Koreans know it can move again. The Chinese, at least publicly, indicate they are no longer interested in conquering the Korean Peninsula and are willing to let events there take their course.

In February 2010, Chun Yung-woo, when he was South Korea’s vice-foreign minister, assured Kathleen Stephens, then Washington’s ambassador there, that China “would be comfortable with a reunified Korea controlled by Seoul and anchored to the United States in a ‘benign alliance.’” “In the past, it was thought that China feared Korean reunification as it would install a threatening pro-USA regime on its border,” Brock University’s Charles Burton tells The Daily Beast. “Today the new doctrinal thinking is that a reunified Korea would draw Korea away from the United States and into a much closer alliance with China as both would collaborate to develop the substantial economic potential of North Korea.” Burton, who studies Chinese policy on Korea, believes that, in the event of a failure of the Kimist state, Seoul and Beijing might actually “collaborate closely to install a military government” in the northern part of the peninsula and then financially support it. From South Korea’s point of view, that would work, but only as an interim measure. Eventually, Seoul would want to exercise sovereignty over all Korea.

Many assume Beijing, as the condition for accepting a unified Korea, will demand that American forces be kept south of what is now the Demilitarized Zone. In all probability, the price for China’s acceptance of reunification will be higher: South Korea breaking its treaty alliance with the U.S. and issuing a firm timetable for removal of America’s 28,500 servicemen and women from the peninsula. But China, being China, will want more. For one thing, as Bruce Bechtol, author of North Korea and Regional Security in the Kim Jong-un Era, points out, Beijing will seek to retain its favorable economic interests in North Korea, such as mineral rights, port rights, access to free-trade zones, and the like. David Maxwell of Georgetown University notes Chinese enterprises have secured 50- and 100-year leases to the North’s natural resources. And leading Pyongyang-watcher Bechtol, in an email to The Daily Beast, said he thinks Beijing will try to get Seoul to agree to a buffer zone on Korean territory along the 866-mile border with China, where Chinese troops are free to roam—and Korean ones are not. Get The Beast In Your Inbox!

Daily DigestStart and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat SheetA speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). Democratic People's Republic of Korea_Ancient History Pyongyang Pyongyang Pyongyang is a microcosm of Korea’s past, present and future, from which one can learn about and experience the history, unique culture, wisdom, talents and enchanting customs of the Korean people. Located in the central northwestern part of the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang is the capital of the DPRK and the heart of socialist Korea. With a population of over two million, it is divided into 19 administrative districts. The city has been designated one of the Eight Scenic Wonders of Korea for its splendid views. The clear-water River Taedong and its tributaries harmonize with the Mangyong and Moran hills to create a veritable wonderland. Pyongyang is considered the cradle of the Korean nation, having served as the capital of both Kojoson (Ancient Korea) 5,000 years ago and of Koguryo, the powerful dynasty of the Orient.

Pyongyang is blessed with Mangyongdae, the native home of President Kim Il Sung, as well as Kim Il Sung University, which is associated with the revolutionary exploits of General Kim Jong Il. Pyongyang is replete with monumental structures including the Grand Monument of Mansu Hill and the Tower of the Juche Idea. Monuments Grand Monument on Mansu Hill The Grand Monument on Mansu Hill shows in formative art the immortal history of the Korean people who conducted revolution under the leadership of President Kim Il Sung. It was built in April Juche 61 (1972). The bronze statue of the President stands in the centre and two monuments titled "Anti-Japanese Revolutionary Struggle" and "Socialist Revolution and Socialist Construction" are on its both sides. A mosaic mural depicting Mt. Paektu, sacred mountain of revolution depicted as a mosaic on the front wall of the Korean Revolution Museum behind the grand memorials. The memorials are 22.5 m in height and 50 m each in length. The sculptures are 5 m high in average.

Tower of Juche It was built on the shore of River Taedong to symbolize the immortal Juche idea created by the President in April Juche 71 (1982). It is 170 m in height. The tower consists of a thematic sculpture of three people, six auxiliary group sculptures, two pergolas and two gigantic fountains in the middle of River Taedong. Marble and jade blocks in the wall of the niche part of the tower were presented from the parties and public organizations to the tower. The top of the tower body which is served by a lift, affords a panoramic view of Pyongyang. Kim II Sung Square It is the principal square of the country where political events, mass demonstration and meetings and parades have been held on official holidays and various occasions starting from the mass rally of Pyongyang citizens celebrating the victory in the Korean War on July 28, Juche 42 (1953).

Completed in August Juche 43 (1954), it covers an area of 75,000 sq.m Arch of Triumph It was built in April Juche 71 (1982) at the foot of Moran Hill to memorize the triumphal return of President Kim Il Sung. 10 500 blocks of granite were piled up. It is 60 m in height and 52.5 m in width. The four columns were decorated by embossed images. And the years "1925" and "1945" carved in relief symbolize the years when the President embarked on revolution and liberated Korea. Carved in relief are the words of "Song of General Kim II Sung" Mansudae Assembly Hall As the national assembly hall of the DPRK situated in the central part of Pyongyang, it is the venue of important political events of the country. Completed in October Juche 73 (1984). It has a total floor space of 45 000 square metres.

Monument to Party Founding It was erected in October Juche 84 (1995) at Munsu Street, Taedonggang District with the height of 50 m to convey down the proud history of the Workers' Party of Korea composed of workers, farmers and intellectuals. The monument depicts the hammer, sickle and brush seized by a worker, a farmer and an intellectual. And the round belt means the single-hearted unity of the leader, Party and people. The Chollima Statue The Chollima Statue shows the heroic mettle and indomitable spirit of the Korean people who made continued innovation and uninterrupted advance in the spirit of Chollima, a legendary horse running 400 km a day in the period of postwar great upsurge of Chollima. It was erected in April Juche 50 (1961) with the height of 46 m. Monument to Victorious War The Monument to Victorious Fatherland Liberation War was built to hand down the heroic mettle of the Korean People's Army and people who defeated the US troops and its allies in the Korean War and defended the freedom and independence of the country.

It was erected in July Juche 82 (1993) on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the V-Day on the shore of picturesque River Pothong. It consists of the gateway, a monument to the autograph of the President and a monument to the dedicated poem on both sides, sculptures of Party flag and the battle flag, a theme sculpture "Victory" and ten auxiliary group sculptures Friendship Tower The Friendship Tower was set up in memory of heroic mettle of the Chinese Volunteers who fought in the Korean War and to enrich the DPRK-China friendship. It rises on the beautiful Moran Hill. First built in October in Juche 48 (1959) and enlarged in Juche 73 (1984), covering an area of 120 000m' with the height of 30 m. The tower was laid by 1 025 blocks of granite and marble stone symbolizing October 25 when China participated in the war. LiberationTower The Liberation Tower was built to hand down the mettle of the former Soviet soldiers to liberate Korea.

Situated on the foot of Moran Hill, it was built in Juche 36 (1947) and enlarged in Juche 74 (1985) covering an area of 128 000m'. The tower is composed of a platform, the 3-story tower body and the top with pentacle. Revolutionary Martyrs'Cementary The Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery on Mt. Taesong has busts of revolutionaries who fought for the freedom and independence of the country. Situated on the top of Jujak Hill of Mt. Taesong, it was completed in Juche 64 (1975) and renovated in Juche 74 (1985). It covers and area of about 300 000 sq.m. It is composed of a gateway, a gazebo, sections of sculptures, education and busts. The monuments to the autograph of President Kim Il Sung and dedicated poem, sculptures and a hero medal-carved pedestal for placing floral tributes are in the section of education. In the section. of busts are the busts of the revolutionaries and a magnificent flag stands as the background.

Monument to 3-Charter of National Reunification The monument symbolizes the three charters formulated by the Three Principles of National Reunification, the Plan of Establishing the Democratic Federal Republic of Koryo and the 10-Point Program of the Great Unity of the Whole Nation. It was built at the south approach to Thongil Street in August Juche 90 (2001). It depicts two women symbolizing north and south hang up the emblem of the Three Charters. Displayed inside are granite and marble plates presented by north, south and overseas Koreans. Democratic People's Republic of Korea_Ancient History Pyongyang Pyongyang Pyongyang is the replica of past, present and future of the country, which one can learn and experience the history, brilliant culture, wisdom, talents and gorgeous manners of the Korean people as well as the breathtaking city views. Pyongyang is the capital of the DPRK. It is the heart of the socialist Korea. It is located in the middle of the northwestern part of the Korean peninsula. It is divided in 19 administrative districts and 4 counties with the population of over 2 million.

The capital has been called as one of the "8 Scenic Wonders of Korea" for its splendid views. Clear River Taedong and its branches harmonizing with hills like Mangyong and Moran create a whole wonderland. It is the cradle of Korean nation and culture as well as the capital city of Kojoson (Ancient Korea) about 5 000 years ago and that of Koguryo, the powerful state of the Orient. It is blessed with Mangyongdae, native home of President Kim Il Sung and Kim Il Sung University where the revolutionary achievements of General Kim Jong II are associated. Pyongyang is richer in monumental structures including the Grand Monument on Mansu Hill and the Tower of Juche Idea. Welcome To NorthKorea1on1.com Pyongyang Municipality As the capital of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly called North Korea, Pyongyang is the primary gateway for most international visitors to enter the DPRK. It is the political, economic and cultural center of the country.

Its location in the flatlands along the Taedong River gives rise to its name meaning “flat land” or “cozy place.” Pyongyang is an ancient city with a history dating back more than 5,000 years. It is reputed to be the capital of King Tangun, the possibly mythological founder of the Korean nation and people. It first came to prominence in 427 BC when it became the capital of the Koguryo Kingdom (277-668 BC) founded by King Tongmyong (259-298 BC.) Pyongyang is the major tourist center in North Korea with many interesting museums, monuments and historical relics. It has several acrobatic troupes and other performing arts troupes. The unique Arirang performances are held in Pyongyang in the gigantic May Day Stadium which holds 150,000 spectators. Pyongyang is the birthplace of the late President Kim Il Sung as well as his final resting place. PYONGYANG by the Numbers Pyongyang: means "flat land", "plain" or "cozy place" Located in Pyongyang Municipality (or "si"), equivalent to a province.

Municipal/Provincial Capital: Pyongyang City Municipal/Provincial Area: 795 sq. mi. / 2,113 sq. km. Municipal/Provincial Rank: 10th out of 13 provinces in North Korea Municipal/Provincial Population: 2,741,260 Municipal/Provincial Rank: 4th out of 13 provinces in North Korea Municipal/Provincial Population Density: 3,448 per sq. mi. / 1,297 per sq. km. Municipal/Provincial Rank: 1st out of 13 provinces in North Korea Pyongyang Area: 795 sq. mi. / 2,113 sq. km. Pyongyang Rank: 1st city in North Korea Pyongyang Population: 2,741,260 Pyongyang Rank: 1st city in North Korea Pyongyang Elevation: 125 ft. / 38 m. Pyongyang Latitude and Longitude: 39 degrees North; 125.8 degrees East Asia Pacific Travel, Ltd. • P.O.

Box 350 • Kenilworth, IL 60043-0350 USA Tel: 1-(847) 251-6400 • Toll Free: 1-(800) 262-6420 • Fax: 1-(847) 256-5601 NorthKorea1on1.com is a registered trademarks of Asia Pacific Travel, Ltd. In Pyongyang, the calm before the sanctions storm? - The Washington Post In Pyongyang, the calm before the sanctions storm? The inside track on Washington politics. Be the first to know about new stories from PowerPost. Sign up to follow, and we’ll e-mail you free updates as they’re published. You’ll receive free e-mail news updates each time a new story is published. You’re all set! Got it Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that scanning equipment in Pyongyang airport was made by Thales, a French company. The equipment appears to have been made by a different company. This version has been corrected. Two workers guide freshly minted cable onto a spooling machine at a factory in Pyongyang, North Korea.

(Linda Davidson/The Washington Post) By Anna Fifield By Anna Fifield May 10, 2016 Follow @annafifield PYONGYANG, North Korea — Pyongyang is either a city bracing for the full force of international sanctions or a city blissfully immune to outside pressure. On the ground in the North Korean capital, it’s hard to tell which is true. Ask a North Korean businessman, and he’ll brush off any suggestion that international restrictions imposed after North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests are hurting even a pinch. “Sanctions don’t work on our country,” said Kim Sok Nam, the manager of the Pyongyang 326 Electric Cable factory, which makes wiring used for televisions and computers but also in the construction of the new high-rises that have sprouted all around the capital. Machines in the factory poured out molten aluminum and wound huge spools of copper wire behind him. “Past, present, future — it’s the same situation for us,” Kim said, shrugging. Inside the factory there sat dozens of huge boxes labeled Axeleron, a compound used for insulating cables that is made by Dow Chemical in Calgary, Canada.

The boxes bore a production date of August 2014, before the current rounds of sanctions went into effect, although earlier measures banned the trade of “dual-use goods,” or products that have both civilian and military uses. The Washington Post's Anna Fifield has been to North Korea seven times. Here, she reports from Pyongyang on what's changed in the city and what hasn't, like the government's control over the population and visiting media. (Jason Aldag,Anna Fifield/The Washington Post) The United Nations — with the United States , Japan, South Korea and even China — is hoping that the punishments meted out to North Korea will hurt so much that they will change the regime’s calculus, that tough restrictions on financing, shipping and the export of minerals will make Kim Jong Un and his cronies think that the price of pursuing nuclear weapons is too high. Bilateral measures have been imposed since February, while U.N. sanctions went into effect in March. [ North Korea announces five-year economic plan, its first since the 1980s ] So far, there is no reason to think that Kim is doubting his priorities.

Amid much fanfare, the ­33-year-old leader called the first congress of the Workers’ Party — North Korea’s one and only party — and over the weekend declared that he would continue his “simultaneous pursuit” of economic growth and nuclear weapons. “We will consistently take hold on the strategic line of simultaneously pushing forward the economic construction and the building of nuclear force and boost self-defensive nuclear force both in quality and quantity as long as the imperialists persist in their nuclear threat and arbitrary practices,” the congress, led by Kim, said in a decision Sunday. In some senses, life in Pyongyang continues as normal. In the Kwangbok supermarket in the capital, North Koreans peruse shelves of Japanese mayonnaise and Ukrainian candy. In the capital’s shiny, marble-filled airport, completed last year, there was certainly no evidence that North Korea was having difficulties in getting high-tech equipment. All visitors’ luggage was put through large, brand-new X-ray machines and scanning equipment made by a Slovenian company. The duty-free shops were well stocked with Chivas Regal and Mumm champagne, Marlboros and Lucky Strikes.

Food is not sanctioned, but the existence of foreign products on the shelves is evidence that North Korea has ways to bring cargo into the country, legal or illegal. 1 of 68 Wait 1 second to continue. But in other senses, there is a palpable apprehension that the sanctions could really hurt. The banking sanctions were having a noticeable impact, foreign residents in Pyongyang said. Although embassies can continue to receive money, aid agencies that do not enjoy diplomatic privileges are having a much harder time. The correspondent banks — financial intermediaries in China or Russia that transfer money from Western bank accounts to North Korean ones — have taken fright since the latest rounds of sanctions and have been refusing to handle money destined for North Korea, no matter the reason. [ North Korea leader hails nuclear and missile advances as rare party congress opens ] While the number of international aid agencies working in North Korea has dropped sharply in recent years, there are still scores of foreigners living in Pyongyang who need to pay rent and bills locally, and agencies that need to pay local staff. While the U.N. agencies that operate here have the clout of big institutions, small aid groups that run on cash are finding the sanctions particularly debilitating.

“Now we’re stuck,” said one aid worker, describing a so-far-futile quest to find a bank willing to act as a correspondent. U.S. companies that deal with North Korea, such as tourism agencies, ask clients paying bills not to make any mention of North Korea on their payment forms. Shipping companies also have begged off. “There’s been no direct impact on shippers, but we’ve seen shippers anticipating problems and refusing to accept cargo,” said one aid worker. Even with letters from the U.N. sanctions committee describing the exception for humanitarian aid, shippers don’t want to touch it, the worker said. The foreign residents in Pyongyang spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying that speaking publicly about such sensitive matters could jeopardize their operations in North Korea. “The humanitarian community is experiencing trouble getting things in from China,” said another expatriate in Pyongyang. “Because of the commercial risk, companies are practicing self­censorship. They feel that there is a risk in doing any business with North Korea, even if it’s for agricultural goods or hospital equipment.” Tourism, a growing source of revenue for the regime, has also been hurt.

The Yanggakdo hotel, which has a casino in the basement, is usually teeming with Chinese tourists. This month, there were only three or four Chinese people in the hotel, excluding Chinese journalists invited to cover the congress. Because there has been such a sharp drop in Chinese tourists, many of the scheduled Air China flights to Pyongyang are being canceled. Flights on Air Koryo, the North Korean state-owned airline, are seldom packed, according to frequent fliers. [ Watch: The Post’s Anna Fifield in North Korea ] But the North Koreans who were on a recent flight all had significant luggage. Many carried large boxes wrapped in red-and-blue-striped plastic, while one checked a sizable wooden crate marked “fragile;” another took a 65-inch Sony Bravia television to check in as oversize luggage. With aviation fuel now coming under sanctions, Air Koryo has reportedly been having trouble keeping its planes in service. It has canceled flights to Bangkok, afraid of not being able to refuel there, according to people who monitor the flights. And while trade in gasoline is not prohibited under the sanctions, the North Korean authorities seem to be anticipating a shortage.

They have ordered cars off the road on alternate days to ration fuel, and a North Korean minder allocated to accompany foreign journalists visiting Pyongyang said that the vans they were using would not be available on Sunday because of fuel shortages. The general consensus here seems to be that it’s too early to tell whether the sanctions will hurt and how severe the pain will be. “There’s no reason to think sanctions are not working,” said one frequent visitor to Pyongyang, “but there’s also no reason to think they are.” North Koreans will insist it’s the latter. Read more: Pyongyang - definition of Pyongyang by The Free Dictionary Pyongyang - definition of Pyongyang by The Free Dictionary Also found in: Thesaurus , Encyclopedia , Wikipedia . Pyong·yang (pyŭng′yäng′, -yăng′, pyông′-) The capital and largest city of North Korea, in the southwest-central part of the country. It was an important cultural center and Chinese colony after 108 bc, later fell to the Japanese, and became capital of North Korea in 1948.

Pyongyang P'yŏng-yang n (Placename) the capital of North Korea, in the southwest on the Taedong River: industrial centre; university (1946). Pop: 3 284 000 (2005 est) Pyong•yang the capital of North Korea, in the SW part. 2,639,448. ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend: Noun 1. Pyongyang - capital of North Korea and an industrial center; "Pyongyang is Korea's oldest city but little of its history has been preserved" D.P.R.K. , Democratic People's Republic of Korea , DPRK , North Korea - a communist country in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula; established in 1948 Translations Want to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us , add a link to this page, or visit the webmaster's page for free fun content . Link to this page: Wonsan References in periodicals archive ? Pyongyang has carried out a series of rocket and short-range missile launches in recent weeks which have prompted stern reactions from South Korea and the United States.

world news bulletin: S Korea to inspect North's fuel rods Feinstein was one of the key Clinton State Department officials who a decade earlier had set up the infamous "Agreed Framework" (brokered by former president Jimmy Carter) to provide the Communist Pyongyang regime with light-water nuclear reactors, oil, cash and food--in exchange for Kim Jong Il's promise to cease its nuclear weapons program. Pyongyang's Building Boom Pyongyang's Building Boom May 11, 2016 The Pyongyang skyline is growing -- and not only with the vanity projects that represent the North Korean state. Despite sanctions and economic isolation, the capital is in the midst of a "mini-boom." 1 A crane tops off the Pyongyang city skyline on May 8, 2016. Construction is now a common sight in the city. 2 An overview of Pyongyang. North Korea spends around one-third of its national income on its military, with little left over for civilian infrastructure. 3 But in recent months the Pyongyang skyline has been looking rather...futuristic. This handout photo of high-rise buildings and apartment blocks was released in October 2015. 4 The Sci-Tech Complex in Pyongyang, completed in 2015.

The atom-shaped structure is run on solar, geothermal, and "other natural energies." 5 A model of a rocket is the centerpiece of the Sci-Tech Complex. According to a North Korean press release the complex will serve as an e-library for work produced by the country's scientists. 6 In the summer of 2015, the new terminal of Pyongyang's airport was opened to much (carefully choreographed) fanfare. 7 Inside, the style is sleek... 8 ...yet Soviet. Some analysts put North Korea's mini-boom down to increased trade with China, while others believe the country has been selling off its gold reserves. 9 Laborers at work on a construction site in central Pyongyang. As well as government spending, much of the economic activity in the capital is reportedly entrepreneurial. 10 Decaying apartment blocks in Pyongyang. According to a report in The Guardian, many North Koreans rely on illicit trade to feed their families. 11 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, here strolling among freshly completed apartment blocks, has slipped some reforms into his nation's moribund economy. 12 A worker photographed during a media tour of an Electric Cable Factory.

Factories in the capital which produce more than their quota can now sell the excess production, offer workers bonuses, or reinvest the money. 13 A guide photographed near the Electric Cable Factory in Pyongyang. There is also money to be made from state entities issuing permits for business people to operate on their behalf, often in completely unrelated industries. A state-run school factory, for example, might sell an entrepreneur the permit to open a mine. 14 Dancers in Pyongyang on April 11, the fourth anniversary of supreme leader Kim Jong Un's assumption of North Korea's top post. 15 Pyongyang remains a gloomy place by night. 16 North Korea’s Best Building Is Empty: The Mystery of the Ryugyong Hotel - The Daily Beast Getting High North Korea’s Best Building Is Empty: The Mystery of the Ryugyong Hotel Nearly 30 years—and an estimated $750 million—after its construction began, the empty and unused Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang remains a glorified telecommunications antenna. Nate Berg 02.14.16 5:01 AM ET This is part of our weekly series, Lost Masterpieces , about the greatest buildings and works of art that were destroyed or never completed.

There are unfinished buildings all over the world, but the most mysterious—by far—is the Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea . Towering over the rest of the mid-rise city at more than 1,000 feet, the 105-story pyramid-shaped building with the ballpoint-pen top remains off-limits to the public, despite decades of construction and an estimated cost in the hundreds of millions of dollars. What it’s like on the inside—like much of the cloistered country—is unknown to all but the few who've either snuck in or taken what seems to be the single tour of the interior, sanctioned by the government in 2012. What it’s like on the outside, though, is clear to nearly everyone in Pyongyang, where it has been the dominant feature of the city’s skyline since shortly after construction began in 1987. Today, nearly 30 years and an estimated $750 million later, this looming, gleaming, futurist-modernist arrowhead of a building is essentially a glorified telecommunications antenna.

The building’s conception is attributed to Kim Il Sung , the supreme leader of the country since its establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. Apparently he wanted to build an iconic and record-breaking building to showcase his country’s power. Kim had recently failed in an effort to either co-host the 1988 Seoul Olympics or to sabotage them by encouraging a Soviet-led boycott of the Games. To recoup some of his country’s lost stature, Kim turned to the age-old practice of monument building. The project would be a 3,000-room hotel, equipped with a casino and topped with eight revolving floors that would feature five revolving restaurants . It would have been one of the ten tallest buildings in the world—the first outside the U.S. to reach more than 100 stories—and the tallest hotel in the world. It was supposed to be completed within two years, opening by 1989. Though its frame was completed in 1989, topping out at 105 stories, construction slowed down considerably as North Korea’s main benefactor, the Soviet Union, edged towards collapse.

All work on the Ryugyong project stopped in 1992, as the fall of the Soviet Union sent North Korea into an economic tailspin. After Kim Il Sung’s death in 1994 and his son, Kim Jong Il, took over, the country was unavoidably heading towards an agricultural catastrophe . A multi-year famine began in 1995, killing millions. Though conditions have improved somewhat, food shortages remain a part of North Korean life. In the 16 years that followed 1992’s construction halt, the 105-story pyramid shell of the Ryugyong Hotel sat massively and conspicuously near the center of Pyongyang, its concrete floors open to the elements, off limits to all but its armed guards. In June 2005, the Italian design magazine Domus launched a design competition calling for “architectural and geopolitical” ideas and designs to complete and functionally redefine the stalled project. Ideas were submitted by more than 200 designers from all over the world—including Pyongyang—and published in a subsequent issue of the magazine.

One idea [video] imagines the building transformed into a large scaffold for multinational corporations’ billboards, which is then strapped with rockets and launched into the atmosphere. The whole design competition was strongly criticized by Czech architect Jan Kaplicky for ignoring the human rights issues being faced in North Korea. “The Ryugyong Hotel is certainly not architecture. It is empty. Without people,” Kaplicky wrote. “It cannot be designed and used by brainwashed robots. Modern architecture cannot exist without free human beings.” The repression of the North Korean regime—along with the building’s long empty years—led many to call it the “Hotel of Doom.” Esquire magazine named the Ryugyong Hotel “ the worst building in the world ,” calling it “the closest humans have come to building a Death Star.” Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily DigestStart and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat SheetA speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't).

Question: Pyongyang is the capital of which controversial nation?
Answer: North Korea