Guards in watchtowers are positioned to prevent anyone from going astray. North Korean guard posts dot the hillsides in seemingly every direction, QSL.net stated. If you are caught escaping by North Korean soldiers, you would end up in a military confinement for a few months or years; for important defectors, death awaits… Many have already tried escaping because of poverty—hills barren of trees are good evidence—since the regime’s priority is making Korea a defense-centered economy.

People ride bicycles and use carriages, rather than driving cars and trucks. The laidback landscapes in North Korea show several inconsistencies as to whether North Korea is actually prospering or not. Bicycles and carriages are vital for most North Koreans who do not own cars or motorcycles. In another aspect, CNBC reported that it has been illegal (again) for women to ride bicycles in North Korea. Kim Jung Un somehow reinstated his father’s absurd law after he lifted the ban last year.