The Trump administration is weighing new legislation that would ban US citizens from traveling to North Korea, following the death of American student Otto Warmbier.
Despite warnings from the US Department of State over the years that visitors stepping into the DPRK risk arrest and long-term detention, approximately 100,000 people— including some Americans — visit the hermit kingdom annually. Tourists may travel independently or go through a state-sanctioned travel agency. They are supervised from the moment they arrive.
In 2016, photographer Raphael Olivier booked an architecture-themed tour of Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, and captured these remarkable images.
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"The first word that comes to mind would be eerie," Olivier told Business Insider of the general atmosphere in Pyongyang, North Korea.
There are some three million people living in the nation's capital, and yet, most of Olivier's photos show vacant streets.
He said people work, study, and keep busy out-of-sight in the daytime. Oddly, dramatic music blares throughout the downtown area.
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