While the surrounding countries of South Korea and China shine brightly at night, North Korea shuts down.

The lack of electricity produces this striking image, taken by a NASA satellite:

You can see the country's border more clearly here:

The effect happens because North Korea's supply of electricity is too small to keep shining through the night. In the mid-1990s, the Soviet Union cut off the country's energy supply entirely.

In South Korea, people consume 10,162 kilowatt hours of power per person, per year. North Koreans use just 739. Entire streets shut down, and people go to bed early with nothing else to do in the darkness.

In response to criticisms that North Korea is too weak to power itself, the state-run newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, issued the statement last year that "They [North Korea’s detractors] clap their hands and get loud over a satellite picture of our city with not much light, but the essence of society is not on flashy lights."

Or considering the recent photos, any lights for that matter.