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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.
This image shows an elite residential compound to the north of the capital Pyongyang. North Korea's founder, Kim Il-sung, lived there and it is believed that his son, Kim Jong-il - the country's current leader - has a residency there. As well as the large houses and well-tended gardens, there is a swimming pool in the upper left hand corner, complete with water slide.

Out of shot, it is also possible to see that the compound has its own dedicated train line that seems to run into a tunnel underneath the area. Long time North Korea watcher, Dr Hazel Smith, says it's difficult to know where Kim Jong-il lives as public appearances aside, his activities are shrouded in secrecy. "These look similar to some of the diplomatic compounds I've seen which also have swimming pools. The party people live in the city proper, whereas this is clearly outside the city as there are so many trees," she said.


Water slide can be seen on the right hand side of the pool
Curtis Melvin, an American economist who has compiled a catalogue of detailed satellite images of North Korea, says sources within the country confirmed this location as being used by Kim Jong-il. "There are houses like this everywhere. At one point, there was a residence in every province. There are lots on the coast. Most of the nice roads in the country are built up to the gates of these compounds," he says.

Life for most of North Korean's 23 million people is harsh. North Korea's economy went into steep decline during the 1990s after the collapse of communism elsewhere. Though the economy has recovered to an extent thanks to greater co-operation with South Korea and some small scale market reforms, living standards and output remain far below the levels of the 1990s. Another factor that holds back the economy is the significant share of GDP that is spent on the military.
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