North Korea is barely visible from space (Picture: Reuters/Nasa)

Residents in North Korea really are being kept in the dark as this International Space Station image shows.

The picture shows the secretive country almost without power, by contrast to China in the north and South Korea below.

The striking image was taken by an Expedition 38 crew member last month.

North Koreans walk on a street in Pyongyang (Picture: AP/Vincent Yu)

‘North Korea is almost completely dark compared to neighbouring South Korea and China. The darkened land appears as if it were a patch of water joining the Yellow Sea to the Sea of Japan,’ Nasa said in a statement.


‘Its capital city, Pyongyang, appears like a small island, despite a population of 3.26million (as of 2008). The light emission from Pyongyang is equivalent to the smaller towns in South Korea.



‘Coastlines are often very apparent in night imagery, as shown by South Korea’s eastern shoreline. But the coast of North Korea is difficult to detect.’

A bus makes its way through the capital (Picture: AP/Vincent Yu)

The release of the image comes after a United Nations report claimed to have uncovered evidence of widespread crimes against humanity in the country.

The UN report concluded the ‘gravity, scale and nature’ of violations were unparalleled in the contemporary world.

Michael Kirby, chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry, said some of the crimes uncovered by investigators were ‘strikingly similar’ to those committed by Nazis during World War II.

A view of the Juche Tower along the bank of Daedong River in Pyongyang (Picture: AP/Vincent Yu)