A woman directs traffic in the pouring rain in Pyongyang, North Korea on May 3, 2016. The city is preparing for the Workers' Party Congress starting on May 6th. It will be the first time since 1980 that the ruling party has convened. (Photo by Linda Davidson/The Washington Post)

A propaganda troupe perform a flag- waving routine outside the central railway station in Pyongyang, North Korea on September 27, 2017. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

A bride and groom jump over a skipping rope as they pose during a wedding photo shoot at a park in Pyongyang on April 18, 2019. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

A girl plays kayagum, stringed Korean harp, at the Tongmun kindergarten No.1 in Taedonggang District of Pyongyang, North Korea Tuesday, May 16, 2023. (Photo by Cha Song Ho/AP Photo)

North Korea has closed its borders in fear of the spread of the Ebola virus. But at a time when the secretive state was still welcoming tourists, former aid worker Andrew Macleod made the journey to the repressive nation. Andrew's holiday snaps and camera footage provide a unique insight into the reclusive country, where he came across deserted motorways, metro stations plastered with propaganda and attractive border guards. Here: a female traffic police officer in the snow in February 2013, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo by Andrew Macleod/Barcroft Media)

North Korean youngsters sing and play accordions to entertain foreign visitors including United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, who visited Pyongyang, May 4, 1979. Visitors report music education in North Korea begins at an early age and is taken seriously by children and adults. (Photo by Peter Arnett/AP Photo)

People visit the Mansu Hill to lay flowers to the bronze statues of late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il on the occasion of the 108th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea Wednesday, April 15, 2020. (Photo by Alamy Live News)

North Korean soldiers march during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of the country's founding father Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang, North Korea, April 15, 2017. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)