Two railway workers chat in front of a flower mural inside a subway station visited by foreign reporters during a government organised tour in Pyongyang, North Korea October 9, 2015. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters)

Yakelin Hernandez, 18, poses for a photograph near The Malecon where The Carnival was held, on August 14, 2015. Colorful costumes, dancing, parades and street parties on the Malecon in Havana, Cuba are all part of Havana Carnival 2015 which was held in August. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

A knight parades in the street during the traditional carnival parade in Cologne, western Germany, Monday, February 16, 2015. (Photo by Martin Meissner/AP Photo)

An Afghan journalist takes a “selfie” as U.S. President Barack Obama (R) holds a joint news conference with Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani (C) at the White House in Washington March 24, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

A participant prepares for the Red Bull Air Race World Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates on February 6, 2017. (Photo by Red Bull Content Pool/SIPA Press/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

In this photo taken on February 21, 2017, shooting instructor Kim Su- Ryon poses for a portrait at the Meari Shooting Range in Pyongyang Kim is holding a “Paektusan” target pistol, gifted by late North Korean leader Kim Il- Sung. Visitors to the range can pay 10 USD to shoot ten rounds. (Photo by Ed Jones/AFP Photo)

Aerobatic aircrafts fly during a performance at the Airshow Zhengzhou 2017 in Zhengzhou, capital of central China's Henan Province on April 27, 2017. The 5-day air show kicked off in Zhengzhou on Thursday, aiming to build a general aviation gathering center for business and communications. (Photo by Li An/Xinhua via ZUMA Wire)

Associated Press photographer Wong Maye-E tries to get her North Korean subjects to open up as much as is possible in an authoritarian country with no tolerance for dissent and great distrust of foreigners. She has taken dozens of portraits of North Koreans over the past three years, often after breaking the ice by taking photos with an instant camera and sharing them. Her question for everyone she photographs: What is your motto? Their answers reflect both their varied lives and the government that looms incessantly over all of them. (Photo by Wong Maye-E/AP Photo)