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On Unreported World we're at
the Mass Games in North Korea.
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00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,520
Marcel Theroux attends the
country's 70th birthday party
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00:00:18,520 --> 00:00:21,360
after travelling outside of the
capital, where there's much talk of
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00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:23,640
reunification with the South.
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00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,960
But his biggest surprise comes
in how the North Koreans plan to
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attract you to visit.
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And here's a clue -
you'll need some skis.
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Rockets over North Korea's capital.
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A year ago the very idea
meant something sinister.
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00:00:48,160 --> 00:00:52,640
Tonight they're advertising
the country's 70th birthday party,
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00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:54,360
and I've got a ticket.
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00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,960
I'm on my way to the Mass Games,
the greatest show on earth.
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00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,720
More than a 100,000
North Koreans take part,
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and they'll be singing their hearts
out for the glory of the fatherland.
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00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:09,960
This will be the climax of
a journey around North Korea,
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where I've never been sure if what
I'm seeing is real or just for show.
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My week-long visit began on a Monday
morning in downtown Pyongyang.
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My week-long visit began on a Monday
morning in downtown Pyongyang.
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This is the only way that
you can visit North Korea -
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under strictly controlled
conditions.
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I'm marked as a journalist,
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00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,240
so supervised by a guide
at all times
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and adhering to a strict schedule.
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00:01:45,760 --> 00:01:49,720
Our team of minders decides
what we get to visit.
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I'm not sure where they're taking us
or who they're going to let us meet,
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00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:57,960
but the view out of the window
is extraordinary.
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00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,120
The way people are dressed,
the lack of advertising,
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the propaganda posters,
the general orderliness,
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all reminds me of the
Soviet Union in the 1980s.
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It's like we've slipped
back in time, almost.
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Our first stop is something called
the Tower of the Juche Idea,
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and all I know for sure
is that it's very big.
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The tower's official guide tells me
it was built to celebrate
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North Korea's unique brand
of socialism.
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Our viewers will have no idea
what the Juche Idea is.
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Can you explain, Mrs Chang.
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Well, I'm still baffled,
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00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:00,720
but perhaps you need to climb it to
understand Kim Il-sung's vision.
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00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:05,800
Wow.
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00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:09,120
Who knew that the capital of
North Korea looked like this?
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00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,520
And I'm told this is all part
of a building boom that has
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changed the look of the city.
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That's the famous unfinished
hotel that stands like a
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Martian pyramid, and it's
been there for decades.
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But these buildings along
the waterfront are all new.
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I've heard stories about a
shabby grey city with power cuts,
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00:03:32,400 --> 00:03:35,200
but Pyongyang looks like
a boom town.
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00:03:35,200 --> 00:03:38,560
Juche, whatever it is,
appears to be working.
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00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:44,280
We're on the move again,
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00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,600
but our progress across the city
hits an unexpected problem.
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So we're stopped in traffic because
the President of South Korea
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is here with his delegation,
so the city's in lockdown and
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we're not allowed to
film the motorcade,
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so we're stuck next to this bus.
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00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:08,240
It feels like we're here
at an incredible time -
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North and South Korea
are holding peace talks.
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Even the fact that we're allowed
to film out of the window is a
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big change for visiting journalists.
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But throughout the city,
big brother is watching.
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00:04:21,960 --> 00:04:25,400
Images of Kim Il-sung,
the country's founder, and his son,
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Kim Jong-il, are everywhere.
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00:04:28,000 --> 00:04:31,480
But it's the grandson,
Kim Jong-un, who's now in charge.
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Next stop, and it's something
I've been hoping to see.
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They're giving me an escorted
tour of the Pyongyang Metro system,
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which is meant to be very beautiful.
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What's the name of the station?
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Puhung station.
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This is a real treat.
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00:04:56,280 --> 00:04:57,800
Check out all the advertising.
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00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,240
A rumour started that you only
had two stations. Why?
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00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,200
Because journalists were taken to
one station and they came out at
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00:05:05,200 --> 00:05:08,840
the other station, and a rumour
started that the Pyongyang system
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only had two and it wasn't real.
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Mr Ri is our chief minder.
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It's his job to give us the best
possible impression of his country.
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This is a tour of Pyongyang.
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We're only getting to see a very
particular selection of sights.
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We are controlled very rigidly.
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We get hurried on
from place to place.
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So in a way it doesn't feel
like we're engaging
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with this place at all.
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Whoa, look at that.
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00:05:53,720 --> 00:05:57,400
I'm amazed to see that every single
person is wearing a badge of
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North Korea's leaders
over their heart.
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00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,040
And yet even here there
are signs of change.
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00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,880
The two guys next to me are playing
on their North Korean mobile phones.
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00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,760
What's most unusual about these
smartphones is that none of
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them can call abroad
or connect to the internet.
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They're a sign of prosperity,
not freedom.
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Just like me,
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these North Koreans can only
see what the government allows.
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We only have two stops.
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I'm kidding, I'm kidding you.
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I know you have more than two stops,
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but you can see how
the confusion arises.
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In fact, the map shows
16 stations on the Metro.
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I've yet to visit the others.
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Next on Mr Ri's schedule
is a factory.
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The murals are a feature
of these factories.
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They celebrate times when
the leaders of the country have come
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and given what they call
on-the-spot guidance,
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which means, in this case, that
Kim Jong-il would have come
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and given them advice
on how to farm fish.
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00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:16,000
The Great Leader's visit is
also commemorated in a special
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history room.
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OK.
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But no filming is permitted inside.
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With everything connected to
the leaders, there's an atmosphere
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of great reverence
that's almost religious,
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and a feeling that if you do
something wrong or disrespectful
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you're going to cause huge offence,
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which is I think why the cameras
weren't allowed in.
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Mr Ju is the boss of
this state-owned enterprise.
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I ask him about the salaries
he and his workers earn.
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00:08:15,800 --> 00:08:17,680
Mr Ju said something
really interesting,
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00:08:17,680 --> 00:08:21,320
he said that the factory's allowed
to keep a share of the money
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00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:25,000
it makes and give it to the
workers, increase their wages.
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00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:26,760
Now, that may not sound amazing,
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00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:30,720
but given this is North Korea,
that's a significant change.
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00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:32,440
And whisper it softly,
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some people might say it's
a step towards capitalism.
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00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,640
I see other little hints of
entrepreneurship as we drive
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through the city -
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00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:47,840
new retail kiosks that have
sprung up across the capital.
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00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,720
And where there used to be
posters attacking US imperialism,
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00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,640
there are new ones calling
for economic growth.
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00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:59,160
Rival taxi firms are competing
for business outside
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00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,560
our next stop - a trade fair.
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00:09:03,960 --> 00:09:06,200
The place is teeming with people.
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00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,000
There's so much energy in there,
but our cameras aren't allowed in.
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00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:15,360
But there are exhibitors showing
energy drinks, honey products,
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electrical products.
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00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:18,760
A lot of are looking for investors,
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00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,440
and all of them want to do business
with the outside world.
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00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,560
The vast majority of foreign
companies here are from China,
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00:09:26,560 --> 00:09:28,760
North Korea's biggest partner.
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00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,920
International sanctions imposed
because of North Korea's
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nuclear weapons programme
badly affect the economy,
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00:09:35,560 --> 00:09:38,200
but I can see there's
a local middle class
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00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:40,720
with the money and appetite to buy.
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00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,840
As night falls, there's time
for the day's last excursion.
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00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,640
This is a surreal sight -
a Pyongyang funfair.
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This is not anyone's
image of North Korea.
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00:10:01,560 --> 00:10:04,600
This is the big question
about North Korea -
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are people terrified
or are they having fun?
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00:10:12,240 --> 00:10:16,720
I'd like to chat, but will people
want to talk to me?
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00:10:16,720 --> 00:10:20,920
My minder, Mr Ri,
is also my translator.
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00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,840
You're the winner.
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00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:25,560
What's your secret?
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00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:29,360
I'm sorry, your friend...
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00:10:32,120 --> 00:10:33,680
She won.
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00:10:33,680 --> 00:10:35,120
She beat me easily.
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00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:38,840
They tell me they're at film school.
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00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:40,840
What is the best thing
to see in Pyongyang?
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Why, what's so good about that?
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They keep glancing at Mr Ri.
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What's the second best thing to see?
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Everyone stays on message.
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00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:12,240
Back at my hotel,
I'm taking stock of the day.
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00:11:13,720 --> 00:11:18,280
I've been warned that the walls have
ears, so I'm out on the balcony.
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00:11:18,280 --> 00:11:21,240
I do have to keep reminding
myself that I'm seeing a bubble
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within a bubble - that Pyongyang is
a city of 2.7 million people,
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00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,600
and there are 25 million people
in North Korea,
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so I'm seeing the most elite, the
most privileged section of society.
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00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:36,840
It's a bit like going to Mayfair
and assuming that that gives you
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a representative glimpse
of the entire United Kingdom,
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00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:40,840
which it clearly doesn't.
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00:11:42,040 --> 00:11:44,840
I wonder what life is like
beyond this bubble.
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The next morning
brings a chance to see.
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00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:55,120
We're heading out of Pyongyang,
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towards the monument
that marks the city limits.
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00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:01,560
We pass a series of checkpoints -
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00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:04,640
entry to the capital
is only for the chosen few.
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00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:09,880
Beyond it lies a
very different world.
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00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,080
I see a much poorer country -
oxen ploughing fields,
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people planting and hoeing by hand.
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This feels tantalisingly close
to the real North Korea.
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00:12:21,320 --> 00:12:24,320
I wonder if the minders
will let us get any closer.
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00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:30,640
We're going to visit a
showpiece collective farm
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in this agricultural area.
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00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:34,400
We're having a lot of
difficulty filming though,
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cos this place is crawling with
soldiers, and I suspect they're
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helping with the harvest, because
the North Korean Army is so big,
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00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:45,360
a lot of times the soldiers are used
for building and agricultural work.
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00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,560
We're given a tour of
the farm by Mrs Kim.
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00:13:04,680 --> 00:13:09,200
I doubt this is representative
of North Korean agriculture,
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00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:13,240
but it is a chance for me
to raise a sensitive subject.
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I know that in the 1990s a terrible
famine devastated North Korea,
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00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:19,880
killing up to 2 million people.
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00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,080
Everyone must know
someone who suffered,
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00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:26,680
but will anyone admit it?
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Could you tell us your recollections
about the famine period?
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00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:51,720
At the worst point of the famine
were people here starving?
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00:14:01,320 --> 00:14:04,560
Mrs Kim clearly doesn't want
to dwell on those hard times.
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00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:11,560
But even today, the United Nations
says that 40% of North Koreans
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00:14:11,560 --> 00:14:12,880
don't have enough to eat.
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00:14:18,920 --> 00:14:22,680
That night Mr Ri takes us out
for dinner in Pyongyang's
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00:14:22,680 --> 00:14:24,160
newest neighbourhood.
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00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:40,080
We're a long way from
grass porridge here.
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00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:44,680
The clientele are
Pyongyang's nouveau riche.
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00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:48,280
In spite of international sanctions,
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00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:52,440
there's no shortage
of foreign booze.
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00:14:53,960 --> 00:14:55,520
That was brilliant.
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00:14:55,520 --> 00:14:57,120
Is this the real North Korea?
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00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,720
Only the propaganda songs remind us
we're still in a socialist country.
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00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:20,560
But if the leader is OK
with it, it must be Juche.
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00:15:26,160 --> 00:15:29,480
Another day, yet another excursion.
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00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:32,840
North Korea is trying all sorts
of ways to bring in money
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00:15:32,840 --> 00:15:34,720
and keep living standards rising,
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00:15:34,720 --> 00:15:38,600
but our next destination
still comes as a shock.
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00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:41,360
So where are we going?
What's happening now?
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00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:48,920
People don't associate your country
with world-class skiing.
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00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:50,560
How did it come about?
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00:16:02,520 --> 00:16:05,400
Oh, you didn't know that he went
to school in Switzerland,
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00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:08,800
you're not aware of that?
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00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:09,680
OK.
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00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:14,680
If Mr Ri knew that his Great Leader
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00:16:14,680 --> 00:16:18,920
went to a fancy Swiss boarding
school he wasn't admitting it to us.
219
00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:23,360
So this is the Masikryong Hotel.
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00:16:23,360 --> 00:16:28,720
It's part of a ski resort that
is being built for North Korea
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00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:34,080
to bring world-class skiing
facilities to this country.
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00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:38,960
I'm not sure who
this is intended for -
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00:16:38,960 --> 00:16:43,160
foreign tourists or
the Great Leader himself?
224
00:16:43,160 --> 00:16:46,240
I mean, it's quite bizarre to have
a ski resort in a country where
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00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,320
there aren't enough
buses for everyone.
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00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:57,280
Being in this five-star hotel has
given me the opportunity to achieve
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00:16:57,280 --> 00:16:59,120
one of my North Korean ambitions.
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00:17:00,720 --> 00:17:03,560
I've heard that only certain
hairstyles are acceptable
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00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,360
in North Korea, so I thought
I'd see what's on offer.
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00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,520
They've got names like
ripple, cloud, firework,
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00:17:11,520 --> 00:17:15,200
sunbeam, goose
and traditional fan.
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00:17:15,200 --> 00:17:17,880
I go for swelling style.
233
00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:19,520
So I'm having my hair cut
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00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,720
according to one of the
12 most popular styles in Korea.
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00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:29,760
I'm told that hair the length of
mine is not popular in North Korea,
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00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:32,360
and nor is long hair
of any kind for men.
237
00:17:32,360 --> 00:17:36,080
And so I just want
to be more popular.
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00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,760
I mean, doesn't everyone?
239
00:17:39,400 --> 00:17:42,800
When I say not popular,
I mean a North Korean with
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00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:46,680
unconventional hair can expect
to be stopped by the police.
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00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,560
It clearly doesn't take much
to be unconventional here.
242
00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:54,160
I actually look exactly
like that guy,
243
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:56,760
although he's younger
and better looking than me.
244
00:18:01,520 --> 00:18:04,760
If military haircuts are popular
perhaps it's because
245
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:08,080
North Korea is a country at war.
246
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,440
We're heading to the front line,
the demilitarised zone,
247
00:18:11,440 --> 00:18:15,400
the border that separates
North and South Korea.
248
00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:19,440
We're now in the demilitarised zone
and we're being escorted by
249
00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,400
a colonel and a solider
from the North Korean army.
250
00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,000
We're a stone's throw from
the border with South Korea.
251
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:29,320
I can see a South Korean flag waving
over the trees in the distance.
252
00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,320
North Korea has over
a million men in uniform -
253
00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:40,760
the largest army in
the world per capita.
254
00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:44,760
One of them is our guide,
Lieutenant Colonel Hwang.
255
00:18:44,760 --> 00:18:48,880
You're on the front line of
a war that's still active -
256
00:18:48,880 --> 00:18:50,840
do you ever feel afraid?
257
00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,160
This is the border
between North and South,
258
00:19:02,160 --> 00:19:05,480
and the blue huts are
actually the American huts.
259
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,920
The white ones belong
to North Korea.
260
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:10,840
And there's a little detachment of
North Koreans guarding that hut
261
00:19:10,840 --> 00:19:14,040
in case any American soldiers
try to defect to North Korea.
262
00:19:17,560 --> 00:19:20,080
US soldiers. Where?
263
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:22,040
There. Behind the blue building.
264
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,240
I wondered what the Lieutenant
Colonel thinks when he sees
265
00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:25,360
the American soldiers.
266
00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:43,320
Still there's a sense
of bitterness and anger.
267
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:57,560
You know, when I see that line
I think that North and South Korea
268
00:19:57,560 --> 00:20:00,560
are like twins that have been
separated at birth.
269
00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:02,920
On this side, communism
or socialism,
270
00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:04,920
and on that side capitalism.
271
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:09,280
And just 70km away is Seoul,
the capital of the South.
272
00:20:11,160 --> 00:20:14,680
I've been to Seoul and it's hard
to imagine a bigger contrast
273
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,920
than between its hi-tech
glamour and this.
274
00:20:18,920 --> 00:20:21,400
In the decades since
Korea was divided,
275
00:20:21,400 --> 00:20:24,920
the North has become vastly
poorer than the South -
276
00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:28,600
average incomes are
about £1,000 a year.
277
00:20:28,600 --> 00:20:31,760
It seems inconceivable that
the two Koreas could ever be
278
00:20:31,760 --> 00:20:33,360
one nation again.
279
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:38,320
I'm heading back to
Pyongyang for what promises
280
00:20:38,320 --> 00:20:41,120
to be the highlight of the week.
281
00:20:41,120 --> 00:20:42,400
Whoa, look at that.
282
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,960
The Mass Games are about to start.
283
00:20:48,080 --> 00:20:49,080
Is this gate six?
284
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:53,920
This one?
285
00:20:56,080 --> 00:21:01,360
This is the world's biggest
stadium - it seats 150,000 people.
286
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:03,360
Imagine the vertigo from the gods.
287
00:21:20,640 --> 00:21:24,880
In front of us are 17,000
schoolchildren drafted in
288
00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:27,480
to flip the cards that
will form the backdrop.
289
00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,760
SINGING
290
00:21:51,760 --> 00:21:55,680
The big theme of the night
is reunification.
291
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:02,080
And the loudest applause
is for this -
292
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,600
footage of Kim Jong-un and
the President of South Korea
293
00:22:05,600 --> 00:22:09,080
shaking hands at
the demilitarised zone.
294
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:12,760
Uniting the two countries is shown
as the goal of their talks.
295
00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:16,840
The crowd loves it,
296
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,200
but I wonder what kind
of country that would be.
297
00:22:23,720 --> 00:22:27,680
The performance shows how different
the two Koreas have become -
298
00:22:27,680 --> 00:22:30,080
the South has K-pop,
299
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:31,920
the North has this.
300
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,360
It's a brilliantly choreographed
advert for North Korea's
301
00:22:57,360 --> 00:22:59,080
brand of socialism,
302
00:22:59,080 --> 00:23:01,720
but, like all adverts
it's not the truth.
303
00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:16,960
The invisible people pushing
that platform remind me
304
00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:19,720
of everything we aren't
being shown -
305
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,160
the tens of thousands
of political prisoners
306
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:23,720
who could fill this stadium...
307
00:23:25,920 --> 00:23:29,240
..the one-in-five North Korean
children who are stunted
308
00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:30,680
from lack of food.
309
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:37,720
But inside this stadium
everything is perfect.
310
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,120
The crowd is high on the spectacle
and the promise of reunification.
311
00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:51,320
But how on earth you bring two such
different countries back together
312
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:55,640
is a question no-one here
is even allowed to ask.
313
00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:16,800
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