Satellites uncover North Korea

[TommyPaine]

Source: BBC News - Asia/Pacific

North Korea is one of the most secretive states in the world. Its citizens cannot travel abroad and have little, if any contact with those who visit their country. The few tourists that do make it are carefully herded to a handful of destinations and rarely get off the beaten track.

Yet, thanks to satellite imagery and the internet, North Korea's secretive world is being gradually unveiled. Here are a series of remarkable photographs showing aspects of North Korea's hidden world that rarely get seen by outsiders, as well as some unusual views of more familiar sights.

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8110093.stm

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Elite family compounds (with personal train lines running through neighborhoods), Taedongang brewery (a UK-based brewery that was bought, dismantled, shipped to, and reassembled in N. Korea), an ostrich farm, a 20-meter-high bronze Kim Il-sung statue...

Pretty interesting glimpse into the country.

[Grinchie]

1. Those are better pictures than of the 2 mile long airstrip on the northern tip of San Clemente.

Just off the coast of L.A. Oooh so secret, yet airliners fly over it a 32,000 feet and it's lit up like a little L.A. all by itself.

Thats how I first learned of it. Then I looked a google maps, which is a riot. They aren't obfuscating these places for security reasons, they are obfuscating them because they don't want people to see the fucking waste by the military industrial complex.

[Name removed]

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[XOKCowboy]

2. LOL They bought into the Ostrich Farm scam!

With starvation rampant I guess any protein source was welcomed.

Very interesting photos. Thanks for the link.

[izquierdista]

3. What's next?

Maybe we can ship the DeVos bunch to North Korea and they can all sell Amway to each other.

[TommyPaine]

6. I'm sure the alpaca farms will be uncovered next.

Though the alpaca wool will be harvested solely for creating a 2-mile-long quilt with Kim Jong-il's likeness adorning it, something to be used during monthly parades in His honor once He passes on.

[damntexdem]

13. Chinchillas -- sell them on chinchillas!

Hey, think they'd go in for pet rocks?

[Daylight]

4. Bunkers for the Statues. Nothing for the people.

[On the Road]

5. You Can Get Some Decent Shots on Google Earth

Pyongyang has a number of embedded picture, but on closer examination they are all official postcard-style photos. Still interesting. I didn't realize that Google Earth captures development over time, but apparently there are people tracking development patterns this way:

The secret capitalist economy of North Korea
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/07/14/north.korea.... ?

A couple of months ago, NPR ran a story on a Dutch photographer who joined a business delegation by passing as a chocolatier. Had some fascinating candid street photos which he spirited out only because they were stored in his iPod. Cannot seem to find the link now.

[pa28]

7. Check out "North Korea Uncovered" too

It's a Google Earth plugin you can download here:

http://www.nkeconwatch.com/north-korea-uncovered-google... /

Palaces, elite compounds, prison camps and in general anything weird or noteworthy is highlighted for easy reference.

[Turborama]

12. Oh, wow. That's a very cool plugin.

Thanks for sharing!

[bc3000]

8. I recommend the Vice Guide to North Korea

http://www.vbs.tv/watch/the-vice-guide-to-travel/guide-...

[jmondine]

9. North Korea squeals and covers up its naughty bits

[Hugin]

11. I was looking at that on one of the map sites once... Yes, you can see the 200 floor "Building that

does not exist".