Under The Angsana Tree: Flight Over Pyongyang

Flight Over Pyongyang (in a Piper Matrix PA-46)

Aram Pan Rowan Beard Flying Over Pyongyang

Pyongyang from above: Singaporean given rare access to film North Korean capital

A general shot of Pyongyang. (Screengrab: Aram Pan/YouTube)

Singaporean photographer Aram Pan has taken rare footage of the North Korean capital Pyongyang after he was given access to film while flying over the city.

Pan flew in a Piper Matrix PA-46, circling over Pyongyang as he filmed the city’s landmarks, highways, bridges & buildings.

The Singaporean is part of the DPRK360 project, which aims to showcase the reclusive country through photographs & videos.

read more

S'porean photographer gives world a 360-view of N.Korea

A screenshot from Mr Aram Pan's 360-degree video of North Korea showing a monument in Rason.PHOTO: YOUTUBE / ARAM PAN

Ever since 2013, his panoramic images have been giving the world a look into North Korea.

Now, Singaporean freelance photographer Aram Pan has done something that no one else has done – create the 1st 360-degree video of the secretive nation.

Using an Entaniya fisheye lens mounted on a modified GoPro, the 39-yr-old was able to create an interactive video that allows viewers to pan around the video during the 19-minute-long clip – effectively placing you beside Mr Pan on his journey.

read more

DPRK 360 @dprk360

The North Korean Photography Project

read more

Seeing the North Korean Stalemate From the Other Side

North Koreans gathered in September to celebrate their nuclear scientists. Credit Kim Won-Jin/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

In Mr. Choe’s telling, North Korea was driven to become a nuclear power in self-defense against America’s “nuclear blackmail,” sanctions, history of confrontation, and affront to the sovereignty and dignity of the state. The North must establish “a balance of power” to hold Washington at bay, finally replace the Korean War armistice with a permanent peace treaty and focus attention on economic development, he said. Therein seemed to be the answer to my question of whether and under what circumstances the North would be open to talks. Only when Washington makes a “bold decision” to end its military exercises with South Korea, halt sanctions and cease moves that diplomatically isolate North Korea can a dialogue between the two countries bear fruit, he added.

Our interviews have persuaded me that it is also imperative for Washington to ease up on the rhetoric. Mr. Trump’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month crossed a line for many North Koreans because it made the fight deeply personal, disparaging Mr. Kim as “rocket man” and threatening to “totally destroy North Korea,” a country of 26 million people.

The Trump administration insists there can be no talks until the North halts missile and nuclear tests for an unspecified period. Hence, stalemate, and a dangerous one. Allowing the shouting match and muscle-flexing on both sides to gather momentum can come to no good.

read more

North Korea Girls 북조선 녀성 14 September at 05:38

Female Korean People's Army on Mt. Paektu

read more

Singaporean photographer Aram Pan visited North Korea last year

When a man from Singapore had his wish to visit North Korea granted, he braced himself for the scenes of 'barren lands' and 'really, really sad people' that he had seen via a BBC Panorama documentary.

But what he found blew his mind - for all the right reasons.

Inside the communist enclave in 2013, photographer Aram Pan witnessed bustling markets, men and women enjoying themselves at a Western looking water park and miles and miles of crops ready for harvest, shattering all of his illusions about what a holiday to North Korea would entail.

Photographer Aram Pan stands in front of a bronze monument. He has now been on two visits to North Korea and plans to go on a third this autumn

The Munsu Water Park in Pyongyang, North Korea, features colourful water slides, swimming pools and glass pyramids roofs. The complex opened in 2013 and appears popular with locals

North Korean men wearing suits enjoy ice cream in the sunshine, contradicting the most commonly cited cliche that North Korea is a 'destitute, starving country'. One man perches on a kerb and waves in his white socks and sandals

Women in brightly coloured bathing suits throw sand on the beach, as others stand with their bicycles in the background. In June 2013 it was reported that, as part of his plans to turn North Korea into a 'world class' tourist destination, leader Kim Jong-un ordered the transformation of the industrial port of Wonsan into a beach resort town

A stunning view from Mount Kumgang, a 1,638-metre-high mountain in Kangwon-do, North Korea

A woman in a pink gown gets her hair dyed at an old fashioned hairdressers. Mr Pan said: 'People seem to go about their daily lives and everything looks so incredibly normal.'

Consumer goods, such as electrical rice cookers and other kitchen appliances, have begun to flood North Korea via China

'The things I've seen and photographed tell me that the situation isn't as bad as I thought,' Mr Pan explained after he saw healthy looking men and women play volleyball together on the beach

Fireworks explode during the climax of the Arirang Mass games 2013. The Stadium is undergoing renovation so there will be no Arirang Mass Games for 2014

Young girls hold up red flowers at the Grand Mass Gymnastics and Artistic Performance Arirang, a gymnastics and artistic festival held in the Rungnado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea

A woman stands with a black umbrella (left) and a horse statue (right) at the tomb of King Tongmyong

The city of Pyongyang seen from the Yanggakdo Hotel, where Mr Pan was staying

A sunny afternoon in Kaesong Town. The city is near Kaesong Industrial Region close to the border with South Korea and contains the remains of the Manwoldae palace

The Tower of the Juche Idea (left) is a monument in Pyongyang named after the ideology of Juche introduced by its first leader Kim Il-Sung. It was built in 1982 and the Tower is sited on the eastern bank of the River Taedong, directly opposite Kim Il Sung Square. Kumgang Reunion Centre

The Meari Shooting Range (left) has a restaurant that will cook the chicken that you've shot. And a typical house in the countryside

Mr Pan captured a stunning sunset as he drove through the rural areas of the country. He said he was escorted throughout his time in North Korea but had no schedule to follow and was given the ability to move around quite freely

The fields looked ready for harvest as the photographer visited. 'Why would anyone mock up miles and miles of crops as far as my eyes can see?,' he wondered in disbelief that the things he saw could have been put on as a show

Mr Pan sampled the local cuisine while in North Korea. 'Possibly the most unusual dish I've ever eaten. Gasoline cooked clams,' he joked

On his early morning walk around the country's capital, Mr Pan hoped he could capture photographs that would show a glimpse of the people and everyday life that has been often overlooked in favour of military and political images

When Mr Pan visited North Korea he saw workers clocking off at 6pm and heading home. Contrary to what a majority of people tend to believe, the last decade has been one of moderate economic growth north of the DMZ

The Pyongyang Metro shows school children waiting to board a train and commuters leaving the station

The streets of Pyongyang featured cars and buses like any other city but far less traffic

There is more traffic than ever on the once notoriously empty avenues of Pyongyang. In this photo shiny looking cars are seen driving along the highway as the sun sets

read more

North Korea: Astonishing never-seen-before photos of DPRK workers

Pictures have emerged of life inside secretive North Korea

PICTURES of workers in the secretive nation of North Korea offer a rare insight of the country as fears of World War 3 continue to brew. Tensions between Washington and Pyongyang have spiked after Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests, as well as escalating verbal threats from the US and North Korean leaders.

The ‘real’ North Korea is difficult to get a glimpse of and photographers have to get their pictures checked by the state.

Visitors are instructed on what they are and are not able to take pictures of and cameras are checked for banned content.

Ryu Nam-Sok (61) poses for a portrait in a public square in Pyongyang

61-year-old teacher, Ryu Nam-Sok, is pictured in a public square in the capital city

Wait staff Li Jin-Ju (23) poses for a portrait at the Arrirang Bar and Restaurant in Pyongyang

Student Pak Kum-Ryong, 23, posed for a portrait in a public square in North Korea’s capital

Barbecue chef Ryu Gyong Hui, 23, posing for a portrait at a stall outside a market in Pyongyang.

A couple, Ri Jae Gyong and Kim Yu Gyong, in their high-rise apartment in the capital city

Factory worker Pak Kum-Hyang, 29, is photographed posing for a portrait at a dental products factory in Pyongyang

Han Jong Gyong (L, 13) and Jo Ryo Jong (R, 14) pose for a portrait at Kaeson Youth Park Fun Fair

read more

North Korea issue is 'different this time,' warns Singapore prime minister

Pyongyang's ongoing nuclear aggression may potentially result in South Korea and Japan hosting nuclear weapons on their own turf, a scenario that would have wide-ranging negative consequences, Singapore's leader has warned.

"What's different this time is that North Korea has more nuclear weapons ... so the risks are higher," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.

To date, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has conducted six nuclear tests — the latest and largest one on Sept. 3 potentially incorporated a hydrogen bomb and caused a 6.3 magnitude earthquake — in addition to many ballistic missile launches. That's despite ongoing efforts by the international community to bring the sanction-burdened state to the negotiating table.

read more

‘Rocket Man’ Vs ‘Dotard’ in War of Words

A man watches a TV screen showing U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at the Seoul Train Station in Seoul, South Korea, Aug. 10, 2017.

In the first official comments from North Korea after Trump had issued his starkest warning yet to Pyongyang, Ri said, "There is a saying that goes: 'Even when dogs bark, the parade goes on.'"

Ri told reporters near the UN headquarters in New York, "If they are trying to shock us with the sound of a dog's bark they are clearly having a dog dream."

Asked by reporters what he thought of Trump calling North Korean leader Kim Jong Un "rocket man," Ri said, "I feel sorry for his aides." Ri is expected to make a UN speech on Friday.

read more

02/10/2017

Flight Over Pyongyang