North Korea sells fake and real US products and also has produced its own version of Coke called Cocoa

He says he has met Americans during his


Fascinating photographs from inside North Korea have revealed how despite being sworn enemies with America, the country actually loves their consumer goods.

French photographer, Eric Lafforgue, has traveled to the communist enclave on numerous occasions to take spellbinding images of the secretive state.

Now he has written about how during his visits he has met Americans touring the sights of the hermit nation despite the US being considered the country's number one enemy.

The Worker's Party blames the Americans for starting the Korean war which cut the peninsula into two factions - North and South Korea.

The heated tensions between the separated nations show no sign of abating 50 years after the war but Americans are surprisingly allowed to visit the country.

'I met many American tourists during my 6 trips, and most of them were surprised as they were well welcomed by the guides and locals alike,' said Lafforgue.

'It was a far cry from the aggressive propaganda and menacing official statements issued by the regime.'

Shoot, bang, fire! A tourist pretends to shoot from the USS Pueblo - a naval ship captured by North Korean forces in 1968 in the Sea of Japan. The ship still sits proudly in Pyongyang's harbor and most scheduled tours of the country involve a stop off at the ship. 'The guide on the boat explains that the US soldiers wrote letters of apology,' said Lafforgue

A schoolgirl with a Mickey Mouse fan smiles for a photo. Many of the Western products are cheap imitations or are imported from China

Despite relentless anti-US rhetoric in North Korea, the country sells both real and fake American products. Above is the wrapper of a bottle of Ryongjin or 'Cocoa' the North Korean version of Coca Cola. However tourists who have tried the drink have commented that although cheap it tastes like flat coke kept out in the sunlight for hours

Although the internet is heavily restricted in North Korea, computers are available to use in universities while smart phone ownership has surged in recent years. Lafforgue was shocked when he saw computers running on Microsoft's Windows

A shop keeper in the country's showcase capital Pyongyang shows off her brightly-coloured goods. While holidaying in North Korea American visitors cannot leave their hotel without their designated tour guides and are taken to a select number of attractions

A cyclist pedals through a puddle laden street in Pyongyang. Frenchman Lafforgue has traveled to North Korea six times and says Americans have more travel restrictions when in the country than other visitors. 'The Americans were allowed to go everywhere except the homestays in the Chilbo area where tourists sleep in (carefully selected) local farmers seaside homes. There was no explanation given, just an it is not possible,' he said.

Anti-American propaganda shows troops on fire. 'Most of the propaganda posters depicting North Korea's hatred of the USA have been removed from the streets. Photographing the only such billboard I saw during my stay in Pyongyang was not easy as the guides always found an excuse not to stop the bus. ''too much traffic,'' they said, on an empty road,' Lafforgue said

'The only posters against USA I could find were in kindergartens and the old amusement park where people were shooting at mannequins dressed as US soldiers for fun,' he added. Above shows an American and Japanese soldier getting stabbed through their stomachs. Japan exercised colonial rule over Korea from 1910 to 1945-the end of the WWII

An American troop is smashed by a North Korean fist in one of the few propaganda posters in Pyongyang. 'I was once having a conversation with an American citizen at a restaurant. My guide told me to end it, explaining that ''he is a fox, a spy.'' The North Koreans use the symbol of the fox, a dangerous, crafty animal, to represent Americans. When I asked why they allow Americans to enter the country if they are spies, he answered, ''well, they pay a lot of money,'' said the photographer

A soldier powers through the streets with a propaganda sign of Kim Il-sung in the background. Kim Il-sung was the first leader of North Korea and despite dying in 1994 he remains the country's eternal leader

Former U.S. President Bill Clinton who visited the country in 2009 described the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that divides the two Koreas as 'the scariest place on Earth.' North and South Korea, which are technically still at war as no peace treaty was signed in 1953

North Korea claims to have recovered after going through a dreadful famine in the mid 1990s which was caused by a drop in Soviet Union support and economic mismanagement by Pyongyang

A female army officer strokes a dog in the street. Mandatory service in the country's 1.19-million-strong military already stands at 10 years, and is the longest conscription period in the world. Regulations put in place in 2015 forced women aged between 17 and 20 to join the service but they can leave aged 23