Last week, on a sunny Sunday in Pyongyang, foreigners and North Koreans ran side-by-side through the streets of the DPRK’s capital – in what’s now become something of an annual tradition marking the birth of Kim Il Sung.

Up to 650 runners from more than 30 countries across the world took part – with participants from Malaysia, Singapore, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, Italy and others, according to the KCNA.