Photographer publishes pictures he illegally captured in North Korea

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China borders North Korea on the Yalu River. That's one way to get a taste of North Korea if you have not obtained a visa (also, the only way if you're South Korean - South Koreans cannot get the visa at all). You take a boat that even takes a detour into a distributary with North Korean soil on both sides. ISO 200, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/8000s.

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And if you're North Korean, you cannot just leave North Korea. There are watchtowers and guards everywhere. If you're caught escaping - by North Korean soldiers - you end up in a concentration camp for a few months or years. That's if you're an ordinary citizen and trying to escape because of poverty. For more important defectors, death awaits. [2] If you're caught escaping by the Chinese, they send you back if you're a man. But the captured women are referred to as "pigs", and sold to Chinese men: "They’re graded according to their age and appearance. A grade one ‘pig’ fetches around 200,000 won; grade two goes for 150,000 won; and a grade three will bring in 100,000 won. The brokers, who act as middlemen, take half the selling price as their fee. Grade one is equivalent to about US $1500. If you get sold for that amount, at least you go to a better house." [2]

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For it is China now that plays the role of North Korea's master. In Dear Leader, one of the best non-fiction books on North Korea I've read, the author recalls how even the great leader Kim Jong-il was once summoned and humiliated by the Chinese (for saying North Korea might be selling weapons to Taiwan). [2] The difference between the two countries in terms of wealth is staggering, as this photo demonstrates. Update: Many people have pointed out to me that I may have exaggerated the influence China has on North Korea, as North Korean trade partners are more diverse than official records would suggest.

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The difference between North Korea and China becomes even more apparent at night, when Dandong becomes a brilliant metropolis, while North Korea plunges into darkness. In the photo, the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge, which connects Dandong with the city of Sinuiju, North Korea. [3]

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The North and South Koreans might be one nation, but after a few generations living completely apart, they have less and less in common. Not only are the North Koreans shorter on average because of malnutrition (Christopher Hitchens called them a nation of racist dwarfs) [4], it also makes one in four of young men too mentally retarded for military service [5] - too slow to even follow orders...

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While China shows off these neat blocks of flats on its side.

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Yalu River Broken Bridge - named so after the Americans destroyed it during the Korean War. [6] It no longer reaches the North Korean shore. ISO 200, 24mm, f/9.0, 1/500s.

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I forgot to mention - you're not allowed to take pictures from the train. There are ordinary North Koreans on the train with you, but they didn't say anything when I took these pictures. There are also uniformed North Koreans, and I avoided taking pictures when they were around. It was very much like a stealth video game. However, if they do catch you, they will probably just get upset and have you delete the photo. Pro tip: You can override the firmware on your camera, so that the Delete button doesn't really delete the photos, it simply hides them so that it appears the file is gone, but it is still on the card. Pro tip: If you don't override your firmware, even if your files are deleted, you can still most likely recover them, so long as you don't write to that card any more.

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After crossing the border, you spend a few hours on the train before you reach Pyongyang. The other option is to fly from China - and that is your only option if you're American. Americans are not allowed on this train.

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Rice fields of North Korea. Bicycle and own two feet are the most common means of transport for ordinary people.

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Giant portraits of Kim Il-sung, the Eternal President of North Korea, his son Kim Jong-il, the Eternal Secretary of North Korea, and Kim Jong-suk, the wife of the former. I asked our guide about the wife of the latter. "We don't talk about her". Okay...

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Railway crossing and pretty neat blocks of flats.

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People on their way to what looks like a factory. "(the Korean Workers') Party is never going to forget the comrades of Rakwon (city)" - Kim Il-so'ng. [8] ISO 200, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/5000s.

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"‘I rule through music and literature." - Kim Jong Il. "Anyone who composes a work that has not been assigned to the writer through this chain of command is by definition guilty of treason. All written works in North Korea must be initiated in response to a specific request from the Workers’ Party." [2] It was Kim Jong Il who decided that Kim Il-sung should be smiling in his funeral portrait.

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Pluralism and individualism are regarded as the greatest enemy. I understood the significance of being able to drive a car anywhere you want, when you please, where you please - as our guide told us in North Korea you only travel big distances by bus or train, when you get permission. ISO 200, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/4000s.

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Patiently waiting for the train to pass. ISO 200, 24mm, f/2.8, 1/5000s.

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Elderly couple.

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Across the country.

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The man has some genuine dignity.

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Unspoiled North Korean landscape made us speculate about what it would be like to visit the country once it shakes off its shackles, but before it's overrun by tourists.

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This was one of the most strange moments - when we finally arrived in Pyongyang. Through the courtains of the compartment window, we looked at a surreal scene that appeared like something out of a theatre in its perfection and artifice. Elegant men, beautiful women, walking in a simulated hurry, travellers without a reason (ours was the only train that day), all to impress us and so that the station doesn't look empty. We arrived in North Korea. Please stay tuned for more.

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