Secrets and spies

His recent trip to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea came at a time of heightened tensions as the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un and President Obama ominously flexed their military muscles.

Stallard expected a tense, hostile and guarded reception when he arrived in the capital, Pyongyang, with a small group of travellers at the end of April. 

But he was charmed by the country, its people and their profound dignity during his two-week trip. 

Stallard said: “The people we met were so perfectly polite. There was never a time when I got any attitude or dirty looks.

“The worst thing I got was when I was taking a photo of a soldier and he wagged his finger at me.

“There was no feeling of tension. People would come up to us, crowd around us and want to socialize. They were extremely friendly, happy and very respectful.

“Everyone dressed immaculately and no-one ever raised their voices.

“Coming from Bermuda where people shout at each other and toot their horns, it was amazing to see the dignity and calmness with which these people went about their daily lives.”

Chance encounter: Schoolchildren on their way to present flowers at the statues of Kim il-sung and Kim Jong-il, come across a newlywed couple on Mansudae Hill in the centre of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang.

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He told the Bermuda Sun he was able to take photos wherever he went, and rarely felt like anybody was looking over his shoulder or monitoring what the group was doing.

He added: “Some of the children we saw had talent beyond Broadway. It was simply incredible to watch these little children dance, sing and play music. It was better than Cirque du Soleil. And they did it all with a smile on their face.

“You don’t see children with cellphones or sugary sodas in North Korea – they are energetic, inquisitive and happy.

“It was different to how I imagined and from the picture that is portrayed to us by the media. I felt that if they were really as controlled as the way we are made to believe, then I would have seen it more obviously. But there was little to suggest this. It seemed very natural to me.”

Stallard said: “Even at the DMZ I did not feel that anyone was on edge or there was any kind of conflict brewing. I was there when tensions were pretty high, but yet I did not feel like there was anything escalating. There were obviously soldiers there, but they would often smile at you and let you take their photos.

“And all the uniforms you saw around the city – it did not feel like a military state or anything like that — it was more like civil servants being given jobs and uniforms as part of their job.”

Stallard and his fellow travellers were driven out into the countryside where they witnessed the vast agricultural fields that provide food for the nation’s 25 million population. They also visited the enormous marble mausoleum where Kim Jong Il and his father, Kim Il-sung have been embalmed and put on permanent display.

He said: “You had to bow three times as you went around the tombs and there were air jets to brush off the dust from you as you entered the mausoleum. There were also rules about taking pictures of statutes – you were not supposed to cut the legs off a statute in the frame and things like that – but the enforcement of this was very lax. No one ever checked your film or your camera. It was all very calm and dignified.”

Military might? Propaganda posters are ubiquitous across the city. 

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Tough new UN sanctions were imposed on Kim Jong-un’s country after the regime conducted its third nuclear test in March.

Talks between North and South Korea also broke down just after Stallard arrived in the country.

But despite this backdrop he says he never felt any animosity from the locals during his short stay in the country: “One incident really changed the way I looked at the situation.

“A Korean man told me ‘I don’t know why the US thinks it should be afraid of us. It is us who are afraid of the US. Look at how many countries the US has invaded over the last few years; Iraq, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Libya, Vietnam. We have not invaded anywhere. Right now you have thousands of US troops on our border and B52 bombers and aircraft carriers off our shores. It is us that needs to be worried about the US’.”

Stallard added: “It seems to me that the propaganda war and brain washing occurs on both sides.

“What I can say from my experience of this incredible country is I have never been more welcomed by the local population and the paranoia that surrounds this country is not born out by the reality.”