
North Korea has long been one of the world's most mysterious domains.

A communist nation with a closed-door policy against outsiders, and one which journalist Adam Baidawi was keen to get inside.

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Mr Baidawi reveals the story behind a set of captivating images he took there and his week-long quest as an undercover reporter to find out what life is really like for the people who live behind those doors.

Journalist Adam Baidawi was keen to get inside North Korea, where his group of fellow tourists were accompanied at all times by guides like this one

Asked to summarise the agenda being forced upon himself and the rest of his tour group, he states: 'It was an agenda of normalisation. 'At every given chance, it was, "Hey, see? We have that here too. We're not as wildly different as your government might have you believe"'

'I worked for three years, on and off, to make this story happen,' Mr Baidawi tells MailOnline.

'It's not terribly difficult for most people to access a tourist visa. But professional journalists and photographers are blanket banned.'

Mr Baidawi booked his trip though an external tour company and didn't disclose his profession.

Still, as a tourist, he says, there's absolutely no way to be alone in North Korea.

North Korea has long been one of the world's most mysterious domains - a communist nation with a closed-door policy against outsiders

Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Baidawi reveals the story behind these captivating images and his week-long quest as an undercover reporter to find out what life is really like for the people who live here

He explains: 'It's not terribly difficult for most people to access a tourist visa. But professional journalists and photographers are blanket banned'

Mr Baidawi, who spent three years setting up his trip, booked though an external tour company and didn't disclose his profession

'You have two "tour guides" with you at all times,' Mr Baidawi explains, describing them as 'meticulously trained' with an 'eerily polite' tone.

'You're required to stay in tourist-only hotels,' he goes on. 'You're isolated from the rest of Pyongyang – isolated from any real, authentic, human contact with locals.

'It's not possible to walk outside the hotel alone. You're not popping down for a morning jog, or exploring the city by sunset.'

All sorts of rules of conduct apply when visiting this country. For a start, you can't address it as 'North Korea', but instead, 'the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea'.

According to Mr Baidawi, inhabitants of North Korea such as this lady on a train were equally as fascinated to see tourists as the other way around

Workers such as these men are tasked with building towering bronze statues of North Korean leaders, past and present

Mr Baidawi visited a number of schools in North Korea - 'only the best ones' - where the country's most talented children are taught subjects including music

Dance is an incredibly important part of the country's national identity, and children like this are trained to a high standard from a young age

Mr Baidawi reveals: 'There's an understanding that malicious actions have very, very serious consequences.

'Though all of the tourists in our group had very strong feelings about the regime, there was a level of restraint – and, in a funny way, respect. Like it or not, we were guests in their country.'

As for taking photos, the rules varied.

'We were told strictly not to photograph soldiers, and, oddly, construction sites,' he says. 'They kept telling us, "Please, please – only photograph beautiful things. Other countries will try to use bad photos against us."'

Mr Baidawi flew in from Beijing to North Korea's eerily empty airport (pictured), which only had two scheduled flights that day

Most of the vast, squeaky-clean halls are for show and sit completely vacant since travel in and out of the country is not for the majority of the population

North Korea's daily newspaper (pictured) is also printed in English, and is tightly regulated by the government - with only positive news shared

School children are taught history in classrooms plastered with violent illustrations of American soldiers, rendered as pointy-featured villains (not seen here)

Mr Baidawi spent much of the tour in the nation's capital, Pyongyang, which he describes as an 'immaculate joyless Disneyland ' - and a far cry from the rest of the country, where poverty is rife.

'Away from the machine that is the capital, things get a little messier,' he says.

'Those in-between moments that I'd been looking for – the petulant school children and tired farmers and shy, reclusive locals – emerged a little more.'

Mr Baidawi visited a number of schools in North Korea - 'only the best ones' - where the country's most talented children are taught history in classrooms plastered with violent illustrations of American soldiers, rendered as pointy-featured villains.

To honour the country's leaders, citizens regularly perform perfectly choreographed mass dances like this one, which go on for more than an hour

Hand-crafted mosaic monuments to the Kims, shrouded in floral displays, are a common sight in the capital of Pyongyang

People gather to admire a lavish fireworks display for the former prime minister Kim Il-sung's birthday. He died in 1994

One of North Korea's traffic ladies, apparently hand-picked for their beauty so as to impress tourists and visitors

'After a few days, you come to realise just how all-encompassing the propaganda machine is,' he remarks.

'These citizens are victims of it from day dot. They're spoon-fed a narrative from birth. I saw one beautiful eight-year-old girl burst into tears of passion while singing a song about the country's leaders.

You come to realise just how all-encompassing the propaganda machine is

'They have no access to information that presents a different point of view. I felt so, so hopeless for them.'

Asked to summarise the agenda being forced upon himself and the rest of his tour group, Mr Baidawi states: 'It was an agenda of normalisation.

'At every given chance, it was, "Hey, see? We have that here too. We're not as wildly different as your government might have you believe."'

Looking at his photos, however, all evidence seems to point otherwise.

Revellers gaze at portraits of their leaders, whose faces appear everywhere from inside homes and shops to the facades of huge buildings

As a tourist, there's absolutely no way to be alone in North Korea according to Mr Baidawi, who snapped this cyclist passing by

'You have two "tour guides" with you at all times,' he explains, describing them as 'meticulously trained' with an 'eerily polite' tone. Pictured, a citizen wanders across an otherwise empty path

'You're required to stay in tourist-only hotels,' he goes on. 'You're isolated from the rest of Pyongyang – isolated from any real, authentic, human contact with locals'

Mr Baldawi adds: 'It's not possible to walk outside the hotel alone. You're not popping down for a morning jog, or exploring the city by sunset'

All sort of rules of conduct apply when visiting this country. For a start, you can't address it as 'North Korea', but instead 'the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea'

Mr Baidawi reveals: 'There's an understanding that malicious actions have very, very serious consequences'

He adds: 'Though all of the tourists in our group had very strong feelings about the regime, there was a level of restraint – and, in a funny way, respect. Like it or not, we were guests in their country'

As for taking photos, the rules varied. 'We were told strictly not to photograph soldiers, and, oddly, construction sites,' he says

'They kept telling us, "Please, please – only photograph beautiful things. Other countries will try to use bad photos against us"'

Mr Baidawi spent much of the tour in the nation's capital, Pyongyang, which he describes as an 'immaculate joyless Disneyland ' - and a far cry from the rest of the country, where poverty is rife

'Away from the machine that is the capital, things get a little messier,' he says. 'Those in-between moments that I'd been looking for – the petulant school children and tired farmers and shy, reclusive locals – emerged a little more'

On the constant stream of propaganda, Mr Baidawi remarks: 'These citizens are victims of it from day dot. They're spoon-fed a narrative from birth. They have no access to information that presents a different point of view. I felt so, so hopeless for them'

Life in Pyongyang goes on as normal while international tensions simmer between North Korea and the West

Despite heightened tensions on the international stage, a series of images taken in North Korea today, a day ahead of the Day of the Sun festival, reveal that life goes on as normal in the secretive state.

North Korea upped its warmongering with Donald Trump today in a series of menacing boasts threatening to 'ravage' US troops amid fears the two countries are heading for war.

But new images show commuters bustling around Pyongyang's central station, as the nation prepares to commemorate the 105th birthday of former leader Kim II Sung on 15 April.

Pyongyang's Vice Minister Han Song Ryol accused Trump of building up a 'vicious cycle' of tensions and warned the US against provoking North Korea militarily. He said: 'We will go to war if they choose.'

North Korea's military said it would 'ruthlessly ravage' the United States if Washington chose to attack. The Korean People's Army statement boasted that US military bases in the South 'as well as the headquarters of evils such as the (South Korean presidential) Blue House would be pulverized within a few minutes'.

Han's earlier comments come as tensions rise over the possibility Kim Jong-un's regime will launch another nuclear weapons test tomorrow as North Korea marks the national holiday Day of the Sun, commemorating the birth of the country's founding father Kim Il Sung.

Despite heightened tensions on the international stage, a series of images taken in North Korea today, a day ahead of the Day of the Sun festival, reveal that life goes on as normal in the secretive state

North Korea upped its warmongering with Donald Trump today in a series of menacing boasts threatening to 'ravage' US troops amid fears the two countries are heading for war

New images show commuters bustling around Pyongyang's central station, as the nation prepares to commemorate the 105th birthday of former leader Kim II Sung on 15 April

Pyongyang's Vice Minister Han Song Ryol accused Trump of building up a 'vicious cycle' of tensions and warned the US against provoking North Korea militarily. He said: 'We will go to war if they choose'

A North Korean female traffic police is seen by a road in Pyongyang, left and a North Korean commuter takes an escalator in an underground subway station in Pyongyang, right

North Korean youths in uniform are seen through train window in a subway train station in Pyongyang. North Koreans are preparing to celebrate the 'Day of the Sun' festival, commemorating the 105th birthday anniversary of former supreme leader Kim Il-sung on 15 April, as tension over nuclear issues rise in the region

A North Korean female conductor stands in front of a mural in a subway train station in Pyongyang, left and North Korean commuters Ri Chang-rim and Jo Kwang-hyole pose for a photo in a subway train station in Pyongyang, right

North Korea's military said it would 'ruthlessly ravage' the United States if Washington chose to attack. The Korean People's Army statement boasted that US military bases in the South 'as well as the headquarters of evils such as the (South Korean presidential) Blue House would be pulverized within a few minutes'

Han's earlier comments come as tensions rise over the possibility Kim Jong-un's regime will launch another nuclear weapons test tomorrow as North Korea marks the national holiday Day of the Sun, commemorating the birth of the country's founding father Kim Il Sung

A military officer wearing medals visits the birthplace of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung, a day before the 105th anniversary of his birth, in Mangyongdae just outside Pyongyang