Faces of Pyongyang: A Visual Tour Through North Korea's Capital

A staff member of the Mirim Air Club carries a helmet as she walks across the tarmac at the Mirim Air Club on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Until a few months ago, if you wanted a bird's eye view of North Korea's capital there was basically only one option: a 150-meter tall tower across the river from Kim Il Sung Square. With the support of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has vowed to give North Koreans more modern and "cultured" ways to spend their leisure time, a Pyongyang flying club has started offering short flights over some of the capital's major sights.

A staff member stands outside the Museum of Natural History in Pyongyang on September 28, 2016.

A North Korean traffic policewoman walks past commuters waiting at a bus stop at the end of a workday Monday, Oct. 17, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

Visitors pose for a photo before mock-ups of dinosaur skeletons inside the Museum of Natural History in Pyongyang on September 28, 2016.

An ultralight aircraft flies over the city of Pyongyang on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016, in North Korea. Until a few months ago, if you wanted a bird's eye view of North Korea's capital there was basically only one option: a 150-meter tall tower across the river from Kim Il Sung Square. Now, if you have the cash, you can climb into the backseat of an ultralight aircraft. With the support of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who has vowed to give North Koreans more modern and "cultured" ways to spend their leisure time, a Pyongyang flying club has started offering short flights over some of the capital's major sights.

North Korean traffic policewomen chat next to a residential building while off duty Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

In a photo taken on October 15, 2016, competitors take part in a see-saw event during the 13th People's Games at Moran Hill park in Pyongyang. The rules of the see-saw event require competitors to consecutively jump over two meters high for a duration of two minutes, and with each jump landing inside a small black square at the end of the see-saw. The 13th People's Games run until October 31 and feature a number of traditional Korean games with some, such as the swing and see-saw events, dating back to the Joseon dynasty.

North Koreans react, some smiling as they watch a movie shown on a giant screen in a public square near the Pyongyang train station on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. (

North Korean students take part in a painting workshop in a park in Pyongyang on September 27, 2016.

A North Korean student pauses to study as other people make their way to work during morning rush hour on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. North Korea’s capital is still a pretty quiet place compared to most urban centers around the world, but it gets its start early, and orderly.

In this picture taken on September 23, 2016, a truck passes people sitting at a lay-by beside the Pyongyang-Wonsan highway.

A North Korean man makes his way along the Taedong River where the Kim Il Sung Square and the Grand People's Study House are seen on the other side in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016.

North Koreans board a bus during morning rush hour on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Rush hour generally hits its peak at about seven in the morning. Pedestrians hustle along the sidewalks or peddle along on the city’s bike lanes, usually narrow strips of sidewalk painted green that started to appear about a year ago, while workers and students who can’t walk or bike to where they need to go load onto the subways and fill the city’s buses and electric streetcars.

Students of the Pyongyang International Football School take part in an under-14 training session, in Pyongyang on September 22, 2016. The school, which opened in 2013, has 200 students and accepts 12 new entrants per year.

North Korean boys play in a fountain feature during a hot afternoon on Friday, Sept. 23, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea.

An elderly North Korean man rests in a park near a residential area during lunch hour on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2016, in Pyongyang, North Korea.