For reasons that were not explained, I eventually had to say goodbye to Suh, Shin and Pak. Saying farewell to my new friends, with whom I’d been through so much, was tough. <br><br>I soon met Kim Jaehyok, a 30-year-old with a steely expression who would remain with me for the rest of my journey. We made our way to the Rason Special Economic Zone, an area established in the early 1990s to promote economic growth through foreign investment and based on China’s economic model. <br><br>The most northern part of the country near the border with China and Russia, it was the most modern of any place I’d seen in North Korea. Young women in high heels and Western fashions casually strolled past while checking messages on their phones, while taxis could be seen on the paved roads. <br><br>There were parks with playgrounds for children, an ice cream parlor, big screen TVs in public places, and even a bank that looked just like one a person might find in the U.S. After the past few days, it was like stepping into another world.

Raymond Cunningham