A photographer captured these dismal photos of life in North Korea on his phone
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As North Korea continues its sabre-rattling about nuclear strikes, we still know very little about the country.
The North Korean government is notoriously secretive. Upon entering the country, visitors are instructed on what they can and cannot take pictures of. Customs agents inspect your mobile phone and other digital devices, including cameras, tablets, and storage cards, for banned content.
These restrictions prompted Getty photographer Xiaolu Chu to travel by train through the country in August 2015, documenting everyday life through his phone lens. He told Business Insider it was too risky to use a high-end camera because locals would report him to the police.
While some images were deleted during run-ins with the police, Chu shared some snapshots with us. Take a look at life inside North Korea.
Chu took the long way around during his visit to North Korea.
Most Chinese tourists enter by train through Sinuiju or by plane through Pyongyang. He instead travelled to Russia so he could access the northern port at Tumangang.
He saw scores of people living in abject poverty. Many begged for money.
"There are nearly no fat people in North Korea, everyone looks very thin," Chu said.
When he later returned to the train station, he noticed portraits of the country's former leaders and the words "long live" hanging overhead.
At night, these shrines were the only lit structures in the village. Other buildings sat in darkness.
A customs agent on board checked his tablet to make sure it wasn't GPS - enabled. The government also jams signals as a security measure.
Some scenes were quaint. Children took an afternoon dip in a river.
Korean People's Army soldiers rested on the tracks.
We asked Chu if he was scared of retribution for publishing the photos from his trip.
"No, absolutely not," he said.
Read more:
• This is one of the best iPhone 8 concepts we've seen this year
• The 13 most safe, cheap, and hygienic countries in the world to visit as a tourist
• A woman who travels the world taking stock photos tells us how you can make £6,000 from a single image
Read the original article on Business Insider UK. © 2016. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments