- As North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets with President Donald Trump for a summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, all eyes are on the Hermit Kingdom — one of the most closed-off places in the world.
- Propaganda runs rampant and presents a very different outlook on day-to-day life for North Koreans.
- But much of the country lives in poverty, thousands of people are held as political prisoners, and the government controls most aspects of life.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un keeps a close watch over the media in his country, controlling much of what citizens know of the outside world, and vice versa.
Though Kim has fought to present the Hermit Kingdom to the world as a bastion of military might, nuclear power, and anti-West sentiment, the reality of daily life is grim.
Much of the country lives in poverty, tens of thousands of people are held as political prisoners, and the government tightly controls most aspects of life.
Here's what Kim's North Korea really looks like:
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Day-to-day life in North Korea can be bleak. Sanctions put in place to punish the nation for its nuclear weapons tests have crippled the economy.
Source: Business Insider
The Hermit Kingdom, one of the most closed-off places in the world, has experienced increasingly severe food shortages in recent years.
Source: Business Insider
Childhood in North Korea can be difficult. Many children in rural areas have to work on farms, and forced labor drives much of the country's economic output.
Sources: Business Insider, Human Rights Watch
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