Visiting North Korea is not something many Tasmanians get to do or perhaps even want to do, but when retired teacher Maureen Ling got a chance she was excited to have a new experience.

"You have to learn things, you mustn't become a dinosaur," she said.

When Mrs Ling retired she decided what she really wanted to do was visit as many unusual and interesting places as possible, but North Korea was not on her list.

"I didn't really have North Korea planned to go," she explained.

"You only hear a little bit about North Korea and it's usually negative.

"I wanted to find out for myself."

With expectations banished from her mind, Mrs Ling left Australia filled with the excitement of discovery.

"It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see what it was really like."

Kim Il-sung Square showing children practising for National Day celebrations with the Tower of the Juche Idea in the distance. ( Supplied: Maureen Ling )

It is not a quick and easy thing to do to travel to North Korea, but there are official tour operators for Australians to visit the country.

Planning can take up to a year and you must travel in a controlled group.

"You have to seek permission for the itinerary which has to be approved by a branch of the North Korean Government," Mrs Ling said.

"There are a lot of restrictions as well."

Among the rules was a list of what visitors may not photograph, which included soldiers, construction sites and military vehicles.

Curiously, photos of the metro and demilitarised zone were considered acceptable.

On the train from Beijing to North Korea Mrs Ling did not observe any other Westerners.

A traditional Korean meal for one person with numerous small dishes plus soup and rice. ( Supplied: Maureen Ling )

"Most tourists who go into North Korea are from China — 90 per cent plus."

At the border, the toilets of the train were locked and no-one was allowed to disembark while custom officers spent two hours searching the visitors.

"They check laptops, mobile phones and they checked for religious material," Mrs Ling recalled.

"I didn't feel at all uncomfortable, they were friendly, very professional — I did not feel unwelcome."

Once the train was given the all clear Mrs Ling and her tour group continued on to Pyongyang to the hotel designated for tourists.

"There were lots of government vehicles, bikes, army vehicles - not many - lots of people and no private cars."

Despite the fact the hotel was only about 150 metres from the train station, Mrs Ling and her group were still required to get on a specially designated bus and be driven around the block to their accommodation.

"We were all conscious that we were in a very unusual country," Mrs Ling said.

Observing the austere Stalin-like buildings and the posters of the North Korean leadership, the Australians checked into their hotel and were shown to the 26th floor.

"We did see a British tour group but they were on a different floor," Mrs Ling said, explaining that each party of tourists were housed according to their group.

The demilitarised zone at Panmunjom. The border with South Korea is where the low concrete line runs through the line of huts. ( Supplied: Maureen Ling )

While the air in Pyongyang was not as clean as Australians might be used to, nor was it as polluted as that of its Chinese neighbour despite the presence of a very large coal-fired power station on the city's fringe.

"There was no graffiti, no litter, no rubbish anywhere," Mrs Ling said.

One major characteristic of the city was the amount of building underway.

"There were a lot of cranes," Mrs Ling recalled, adding that the roads appeared in good condition.

During her time in North Korea one of the highlights for Mrs Ling was being able to visit a school.

"[The children] wanted to know where we were from," she said.

"As a former teacher it fell upon me to draw a map on the board of Australia and Tasmania, but around the room there was no globe, no maps.

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun — the mausoleum where former leaders Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il lie in state. ( Supplied: Maureen Ling )

"I wondered how much knowledge the kids had of the outside world as I know the curriculum is very controlled."

Another highlight was a visit to the demilitarised zone, the border between North and South Korea.

"No South Koreans soldiers in sight, not a soul there.

"There were a few North Korean soldiers standing around, but for one of the supposedly last Cold War frontiers in the world it seemed strangely peaceful and calm."

Food-wise, pickled cabbage, soup and rice were the most commonly served items with only a little meat appearing on menus every now and then.

Perhaps the only regret of Mrs Ling's time in North Korea was the fact tourists were not able to mingle freely with the population.

While such restrictions did not come as a surprise, Mrs Ling still came away with the belief that people are people.

"They were very nationalistic, they love their country, but nowhere were they ever unfriendly to us," Mrs Ling said.