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In the snaps, taken by a tourist during a recent visit, soldiers are seen snoozing at the roadside and labouring over broken trucks.

One photo shows a female soldier on duty in high heels, while another shows at least 14 men crammed onto a vehicle that seats six.

Some trucks even appear to be powered by wood gas generators – a technology not commonplace in Europe since the end of World War 2.

This comes as North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un continues to raise tensions with his war of words with US President Donald Trump.

Today, Japan vowed "imminent" action against the state after the leader's landslide election victory.

(Image: PEN NEWS)

While UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson spoke out against North Korea today.

But Kim's bombastic words look hollow with the photos of his unprepared army.

The photographer, who asked not to be identified, said the few soldiers he saw appeared unready for action.

This was even at the border with hostile rivals South Korea.

(Image: PEN NEWS)

"We didn't see many soldiers apart from what you see in my pictures," he said.

"And no one looked combat-ready.

"At DMZ there were of course soldiers but those we saw were all 'guides' in one way or another."

North Korea is famously tetchy about photography and visitors often have their pictures deleted by their chaperons.

However these pictures were taken on a camera with two memory card bays, meaning any photos deleted would be backed up.

Yet the photographer didn't need to worry – he says his guides were "very liberal" and his cache of photos wasn't even inspected once.

"I read a lot on the Internet about the guides looking through your camera every day and even some times when you leave the country," he recalled.

"So I bought a camera with twin memory card bays, so even if I had to delete a picture I had one left... but my guides were very liberal and never inspected my photos."

Experts agree that North Korea's army is significantly less capable than that of neighbouring South Korea, but say Kim's forces are not to be underestimated.

Malcolm Chalmers, who advised foreign secretaries Jack Straw and Margaret Beckett, said Northern troops could wage guerrilla warfare.

He said: "Fundamentally the North Korean conventional military capability is much weaker than that of South Korea and the US.

"They have very little in the way of air power and air defence capabilities.

“They exist, but again, they're not very powerful.

"But once they hide out in the cities and the countryside and wait to do damage for invading forces, I think it could create quite a lot of difficulty."

The snaps were shot en-route to Mount Kumgang and the port city of Wonsan on North Korea's east coast, the city of Nampo on the west coast and in the capital Pyongyang.