North Korea Fast Facts
![CNN and other journalism organizations were given rare access to North Korea as part of the country's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of the Korean War. CNN's <a href="http://instagram.com/ivancnn" target="_blank">Ivan Watson</a> and <a href="http://instagram.com/tjschwarz" target="_blank">Tim Schwarz</a> were part of the group visiting the isolated nation and captured some of the sights using Instagram. Occasionally, the mask slipped to show a more poignant, human face of North Korea. Here a <a href="http://instagram.com/p/cVrGDhiDX5/" target="_blank">young mother and her child pose</a> for Watson while walking in Pyongyang. "[It was a] fascinating, frustrating visit," Watson said. "Sadly, I didn't have a single 'real' conversation with a North Korean due to immense government paranoia."](http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/130729172552-01-nk-instagram-horizontal-large-gallery.png)
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – CNN and other journalism organizations were given rare access to North Korea as part of the country's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the conclusion of the Korean War. CNN's Ivan Watson and Tim Schwarz were part of the group visiting the isolated nation and captured some of the sights using Instagram. Occasionally, the mask slipped to show a more poignant, human face of North Korea. Here a young mother and her child pose for Watson while walking in Pyongyang. "[It was a] fascinating, frustrating visit," Watson said. "Sadly, I didn't have a single 'real' conversation with a North Korean due to immense government paranoia."
Hide Caption
1 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – There were other moments of discovery, too. "This trip to Pyongyang introduced me to a delicious Korean dish: Naeng Myun, or cold buckwheat noodles," Watson said.
Hide Caption
2 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – The reclusive nation of North Korea this week welcomed Western media to cover the 60th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended fighting in the Korean War.
Hide Caption
3 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – At one of the specially organized, expertly synchronized parades, these female army medics marched perfectly in line as they paraded through Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square.
Hide Caption
4 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – The celebrations, presided over by North Korea's young leader, Kim Jong Un, came several months after North Korea threatened to scrap the agreement and resume hostilities against the United States and South Korea. The heightened tensions came after the United Nations slapped tougher sanctions on the country after its latest nuclear test.
Hide Caption
5 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – "A family day out at the Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia festival," says Schwarz. "Those big red blooms are kimjongilias."
Hide Caption
6 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – "This was most tightly controlled restricted foreign assignment of my career," Watson said of his visit to the country. Here visitors take souvenir photos at the Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia flower festival. The flowers are named after former North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, who overlook the scene from the painting on the left hand side.
Hide Caption
7 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – The family dynasty that has ruled North Korea for decades permeates all aspects of the population's lives, from their flowers to their reading material. "Most of the literature here appears to focus on the life and thoughts of Kim Jong Il," Watson says. "Also for sale: Encyclopedia of Kimjongilia (the flower named after the former North Korean leader)."
Hide Caption
8 of 11
Photos: Instagrams from North Korea
Instagrams from North Korea – The Communist nation also proudly displays in Pyongyang the signs of its ideology -- the hammer and the sickle here loom over visitors and locals alike in the city.
Hide Caption
9 of 11
