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)

A female Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighter works on her laptop while watching a Kurdish TV station at a base in the Sinjar mountains, March 11, 2015. Women fighters at a Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) base on Mount Sinjar in northwest Iraq, just like their male counterparts, have to be ready for action at any time. Smoke from the front line, marking their battle against Islamic State, which launched an assault on northern Iraq last summer, is visible from the base. Many of the women have cut links with their families back home; the fighters come from all corners of the Kurdish region. (Photo by Asmaa Waguih/Reuters)

French National Front party deputy Marion Marechal-Le Pen attends the questions to the government session at the National Assembly in Paris April 14, 2015. (Photo by Charles Platiau/Reuters)

Laura Halford of Wales jumps during her hoop routine as she competes in the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final event at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, July 25, 2014. (Photo by Phil Noble/Reuters)

A model presents a creation during the 2018 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in New York City, New York, U.S., November 8, 2018. (Photo by Mike Segar/Reuters)

Revellers battle with tomato pulp during the annual “Tomatina” (tomato fight) festival in Bunol near Valencia, Spain, August 31, 2016. (Photo by Heino Kalis/Reuters)

Rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) visit as they wait to have lunch in El Diamante, Colombia, Friday, September 16, 2016. FARC rebels are gathering for a congress were delegates will debate and vote on the accord reached last month with the Colombian government to end five decades of war. (Photo by Ricardo Mazalan/AP Photo)

Alex Neal-Bullen during an Adelaide Crows match against Port Adelaide Power at Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia on July 26, 2025. (Photo by Matt Turner/AAP)