Inside the lost world of North Korea: Daily life in the planet's most secretive nation

These pictures furnish an unparalleled look into the closed society of North Korea, the most secretive country on Earth.

They show the country's hidden poverty, the bizarre idolatry, the military obsession - and the green shoots of hope.



The country forbids nearly all immigration and emigration, and restricts tourists to an official route accompanied by government-appointed guides, so it can be hard to get an insight into North Korea's everyday life.

Starving peasants in a 'land of plenty': Defying the propaganda, a man sits on a cart carrying wood on a road outside the southern town of Kaesong, North Korea Drab: Delapidated rural housing outside of Kaesong, where the food crisis is getting worse again

Skyscrapers: This is the centre of the capital Pyongyang, dominated by Soviet-looking tower blocks Children stare at the photographer through the door of a subway car; above the door are portraits of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-il

Celebration: These girls are performing a dance routine to celebrate the birthday of Kim Il-Sung, who died in 1994

Although all potential farmland has been thoroughly exploited, famine remains persistent in North Korea

Meagre existence: A communal farm compound near Kaesong

But these pictures, by Associated Press photographer David Guttenfelder, explore aspects of this backward dictatorship which have never been seen before.



Mr Guttenfelder was granted unprecedented access to parts of the country usually closed to journalists.

As well as documenting Pyongyang, the relatively prosperous capital which is nonetheless almost empty of cars, he ventured out in the the countryside.

Ordinary North Koreans rarely have access to electricity, let alone the internet, and a quarter are thought to require food aid.

These lucky browsers are students at Kim Il-Sung University in Pyongyang - but increasing number of North Koreans are accessing the internet, particularly through their phones

This ornate entrance hall, complete with statue of the 'Great Leader', belongs to the Grand People's Study Hall

At times, there can be more traffic police than actual cars - even in Pyongyang

What little food is available is said to be frequently unpleasant: This picture shows a fast food restaurant at a Pyongyang amusement park

The Monument to the Three Charters for National Reunification symbolises the hope for eventual reunification of the two Koreas

The persistent famine is not for want of trying, as these photographs show: nearly all of the countryside has been thoroughly exploited.

But the country is so corrupt and inefficient that very little food goes to those who need it most.

However, the 'Dear Leader' Kim Jong-il is always well-fed, as is his chubby successor Kim Jong-un.

The country is still nominally led by the 'Great Leader', Kim Il-Sung, who died in 1994 and whose portrait hangs in nearly every home.



This swimming pool is only open to the elite students at Kim Il-Sung university, where entrance is based primarily on family connections

Very few North Koreans have access to electricity - the country appears almost black in night-time satellite pictures, unlike the booming economies of East Asia

Stunted: North Korea is the most militarised country in the world, as all men must serve at least 10 years in the army

A girl playing the piano at Changgwang Elementary School in Pyongyang

This tractor is extremely high-tech by the standards of North Korean agriculture, however the low-tech farming methods have contributed to years of famine