Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)

Pictures / 27 Apr 2009  / views: 43599



News stories about North Korea have been quite frequent recently, with their test launch of a rocket over Japan, withdrawal from nuclear disarmament talks coupled with a threat to restart their nuclear program, reports that their nuclear attack capabilities may be larger than previously thought - and their recent arrest and indictment of two U.S. reporters on its border with China. Even with all this attention, photographs from North Korea are still restricted and hard to come by. One way around that has been for photographers to peer inside from across the border, a pastime that has also spurred a level of curious tourism in both neighboring South Korea and China. Collected here are a some recent photographs, looking into reclusive North Korea from the outside - and some of the reactions these observations induce.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean soldiers walk in an early morning mist with their rifles and spades along the North Korean-Chinese border near the Chinese city of Dandong on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A man on a Yalu River touring boat uses binoculars for a closer glimpse of life in the North Korean border town of Sinuiju on April 5, 2009, across the river from Dandong in northeast China.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean border guards pause on the bank of the Yalu River at the border with China near the North Korean city of Hyesan on April 4, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
This picture taken on April 3, 2009 from a boat close to the Chinese town of Dandong, China, shows a North Korean farmer collecting water along the the banks of the Yalu River near the town of Qingzhouli, North Korea.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A North Korean soldier plays a guitar on the banks of the Yalu River near the town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese city of Dandong on April 15, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Fishing vessels are docked on the banks of the Yalu River in the North Korean border town of Sinuiju on April 6, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean workers walk towards a factory in the city of Hyesan on April 4, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
People push carts in the North Korean city of Hyesan on April 4, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Men ride their bicycles on the banks of Yalu River in the North Korean city of Hyesan on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A woman views North Korea from China in a watchtower on Tiger Mountain Great Wall, the eastern starting point of the Great Wall that stretches across northern China and forms part of China's border with North Korea, overlooking the Yalu River.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A North Korean soldier looks up as he patrols the border near the Chinese city of Dandong on April 4, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Smokestacks line a hazy riverfront as a North Korean border patrol speedboat anchors in the middle of the Yalu River and a Chinese tour boat passes by, offshore of the town of Siniuju on April 4, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean boys throw stones at a passing boat from the riverbank of the Yalu River northeast of Siniuju on April 3, 2009, across from Dandong, China.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A North Korean soldier plays with his spade as he and his companions walk away from the North Korean-Chinese border near Dandong, China on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A visitor walks on "Broken Bridge" in Dandong on March 23, 2009 which used to connect China and North Korea before it was bombed by the US during the Korean war and is now a tourist attraction on the Yalu River.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Dusk falls over the Yalu River on April 3, 2009, which seperates the North Korean town of Siniuju (opposite) from the Chinese city of Dandong, as lights are turned on along the Yalu River bridge, also known as the no-name bridge. The full-length bridge built right beside the no-name bridge remains busy during the day time as trucks, trains and other vehicles transport goods back and forth.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean men ride on a truck as they pass a military guardpost on the banks of the Yalu River near the town of Qingzhouli, North Korea.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A North Korean officer gestures upon seeing his soldiers chatting with local Chinese over the North Korean-Chinese border near the city of Dandong on April 4, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Off duty soldiers play basketball on the bank of the Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju on April 15, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean women work in front of a building with a picture of late leader Kim Il-sung in the city of Hyesan on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Workers smile as Chinese visitors wave to them from a passenger boat while soldiers, in the background, look on at the waterfront of the Yalu River at the North Korean town of Sinuiju on Sunday, March 22, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A soldier looks on as she stands guard along the waterfront of the Yalu River at the North Korean side, opposite the Chinese border town of Hekou on Monday, March 23, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean border guards throw stones towards the photographer as they work on a field at the Yalu River near the city of Hyesan on April 6, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Border guards walk over a railway bridge in the city of Hyesan on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A woman carries water she collected from the Yalu River in the North Korean city of Hyesan on April 6, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A woman collects water from the icy Yalu River in the city of Hyesan on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A boy walks next to his geese near the North Korean town of Sinuiju on April 3, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A North Korean border guard reacts to the photographer as he walks along the banks of the Yalu River in Hyesan, North Korea on April 4, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A man walks his ox cart along the banks of Yalu River in Hyesan on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A woman pushes her wheelbarrow across a dry landscape on the banks of the Yalu River, 60 km northeast of Dandong, China on April 3, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A woman cycles on a bridge along the waterfront of the Yalu River on the North Korean side, opposite the Chinese town of Hekou on Monday, March 23, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
False artillery emplacements, built with stones and branches, are seen along the waterfront of the Yalu River on the North Korean side, opposite the town of Hekou, China on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
North Korean children tussle along the North Korean banks of the Yalu river on Sunday, April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
Words reading "If (our) party decides, we will do it!" are seen on a field near Hyesan, North Korea on April 6, 2009. North Korea had fired a long-range rocket over Japan the day before.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A North Korean soldier points a gun at the photographer on the banks of the Yalu River near Sinuiju, across from Dandong, China on April 15, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)
A North Korean soldier looks over his shoulder as he patrols the North Korean-Chinese border near Dandong on April 5, 2009.

Country where a smile is hardly seen (37 pics)

A North Korean soldier stands watch from behind her guard post on the waterfront of the Yalu River on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

(с) boston.com




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Comments (17):

1

Bless those people!!! =/
quote | 27 Apr 2009 09:28 | koreanwutard (user's comments: 101)    

2

36
quote | 27 Apr 2009 10:17 | Amin (user's comments: 6)    

3

oh my...
quote | 27 Apr 2009 15:35 | ta2li (user's comments: 201)    

4

JC_OMG_sign
quote | 27 Apr 2009 20:09 | himes (user's comments: 2182)    

5

shoot
I don't speak English so excuse my posts....I'll try to write as well as I can.
quote | 28 Apr 2009 02:07 | capa76 (user's comments: 2680)    

6

thats what a stalemate will do to a country! and its a said thing to witness
CrownRoyalty is truly the best kind of royalty their is!
quote | 28 Apr 2009 04:07 | SuperMilow (user's comments: 2181)    

7

WhiteVoid_1
quote | 28 Apr 2009 21:41 | struky (user's comments: 301)    

8

wow
I want to take this moment to thank you for all the effort it must take you to provide such stunning content for our enjoyment. Because I've found your site, (thanks to Stumble, btw), I don't bother anymore with other such sites - your site is so full of content, interesting content, that I don't much need to go elsewhere for my online entertainment.
Thanks again.
quote | 30 Apr 2009 15:06 | willbhome (user's comments: 109)    

9

WOW God Bless those people. n_wassat
quote | 28 May 2009 23:58 | J. BrownTown (user's comments: 0)    

10

No wonder those people are so pissed! n_angry
quote | 31 May 2009 07:59 | Fo' Skin (user's comments: 0)    

11

North Korea has largely become a xenophobic and paranoid and "torn" country. They are basically automotons barely clinging onto their souls as they are spoon fed their information and brainwashed into believing their propaganda. Seriously, invading North Korea will spurn outrage for years to come, but the end result will be FAR better for them and the rest of the world if we just did anyways. Unfortunately we will have a hard time convincing both China and Russia we are not their to eliminate communism and in turn. They are the only two friends to NK that keeps the world from overthrowing it.
quote | 31 May 2009 15:28 | David Klecker (user's comments: 0)    

12

2nd last photo.. hes actually taking a piss.
quote | 31 May 2009 17:19 | duhhh (user's comments: 0)    

13

let those losers die out. dun give them aid with our money.
quote | 31 May 2009 18:49 | us tax payer (user's comments: 0)    

14

impressive !
quote | 6 Jun 2009 23:27 | gggbot (user's comments: 0)    

15

If an entire country can be insane, then this one is !!!!
quote | 10 Jun 2009 23:02 | Hahn (user's comments: 0)    

16

In China ,this happens in the years of culture revolution
quote | 25 Aug 2009 14:58 | culture revolution (user's comments: 0)    

17

Wow!! Fantastic pictures! Plz visit a website uploaded.tv where u can upload ur own videos, music n photos! You can even upload ur own videos to real TV, worldwide!
quote | 18 Oct 2009 08:53 | subho (user's comments: 0)    

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