From the outside looking in, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) appears a tightly controlled society, closed off from the rest of the world.

But for most people, if you want to go, you can.

So, given the case of Australian-born North Korean resident Alek Sigley, should you?

North Korea wants tourists

Unofficial estimates put the total number of tourists to the DPRK at 50,000 a year.

According to Simon Cockerell, the general manager of Koryo tours, Chinese travellers make up the majority of that number, with only about 4,000–5,000 Westerners taking the trip each year.

Until recently, these figures seemed to be on an upward trajectory and I was among those travelling to this little-understood country.

For Chinese tourists, North Korea is a nostalgic throwback to mid-20th-century socialism, almost like a time capsule of Mao Zedong's China in which many of them grew up.

It's clear why they find the DPRK — a country they share culture, history and a border with — so appealing.

For everyone else, it's arguably just as fascinating, with a culture and customs that come from prolonged and near-complete isolation.

Despite the history of secrecy, and aggressive foreign policy, North Korea wants tourists.

Kim Jong-un, leader of the DPRK, said as much in 2015 when he set the ambitious goal of 2 million annual visitors by 2020.

But is it safe?

While North Korea might be considerably short of their tourist target, it has the infrastructure and demand for tourism. That means the DPRK will, in almost all cases, approve travel visas.

The sole requirement for traveling to North Korea is that you book through a DPRK-licensed tour operator, such as Tongil Tours, the company Mr Sigley had been running to share his passion for North Korea with others.

Tour companies organise everything, from your visa to Government-appointed tour guides. That means those who travel to the DPRK will be on a bus, following a predetermined itinerary for the entirety of their stay.

Those looking for the road less travelled, be damned.

The Mansudae Grand Monument, featuring large bronze statues of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, is an important site to visit. ( Supplied: Maureen Ling )

By design, there is minimal contact with regular North Koreans — you'll be ferried around in safari-like fashion, observing the people and their country from behind the flash of your tour companion's fancy DSLRs or bus window.

Rules regarding where you can go, who you can speak to, and what you can take, buy or photograph, are made apparent to all who travel, before and during their stay in North Korea.

And don't underestimate the risks if you do venture beyond these stated boundaries, as the story of US student Otto Warmbier tragically underlines. The extent of the concern for Mr Sigley after his sudden disappearance was therefore no surprise.

North Korea bristles at criticism of its human rights record. ( Reuters: Damir Sagolj )

Yet thousands travel in and out of the DPRK every year without incident. If you are following the instructions of your guide, and aware that your belongings will be searched and reviewed — while you are with them and while you are not — then you should be safe in North Korea.

After filling out a short form and photocopying your passport, you will have officially completed the visa application process. It's so simple that when you take your first breath of North Korean air, it is likely to be in a carpark crawling with tour buses and other tourists, outside of Pyongyang train station.

What is your money used for?

It is tempting when you look around to feel good about the money flooding into a country that has endured a famine among other economic hardships. But it is not clear where the money is going.

Tourists bring precious foreign currency to North Korea but where does the money go? ( Reuters: Damir Sagolj )

It might be creating jobs and opening dialogue with the outside world, along with helping to feed those still suffering food shortages in the country's west. Or, it might be going directly to a dictatorial regime with a laundry list of human rights abuses including the detention of foreigners.

Even in the worst-case scenario, the revenue raised from the DPRK's growing tourism industry is inconsequential to the nation's estimated $US40 billion annual GDP.

And given the low-cost of traveling to the DPRK — our visa, transport, tour, food and accommodation came in at under $800 for four days — the tours feel more like a propaganda exercise than a cash-cow.

The near-comical level of choreography involved can't be cheap to maintain.

Tourists are fed in banquet halls, chauffeured from site to site and treated to extravagant performances.

Josh Pearce, an Australian living in China, visited North Korea last year.

He said he wasn't worried about supporting violence or suffering in the DPRK any more than he would be in visiting any other country.

"If everyone acted ethically when deciding to travel within any country in the world, no-one would travel," Mr Pearce said.

On his Tongil Tours website, Mr Sigley wrote: "Tourists provide a rare and much-needed bridge between North Korea and the outside world."

North Korea is a beautiful country with a rich and unique culture and citizens who want to know more about the world.

A trip on a tour bus might not be as intimate as your home-stay Spanish language holiday in Guatemala, but the value comes from the insight it offers into life inside a country nothing like our own.

But travel to the DPRK should still be met with caution.

For those who want to go, there's almost nothing stopping you. Just remember to follow the rules.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade recommends Australians reconsider their need to travel to North Korea due to the restrictions placed on foreigners and the risk of arbitrary arrest and detention.

The Australian Government's ability to provide consular assistance in North Korea is extremely limited.

Peter Bateman is a freelance writer.