The People's Democratic Republic of Korea was created Sept. 9, 1948, under Soviet auspices, after the Japanese surrender of 1945. Revealing imagery of the reclusive Communist state.

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—A birthday celebration for Kim Jong-il, son and successor of deceased Communist leader Kim Il-sung, Feb. 16, 2005

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Children at a model kindergarten, 1979.

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—A military parade to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, 1982.

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Kim Jong-il appears before Western media, 1982

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Children practice at Kim Il-sung's birthday celebration, 1982

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—A Kim Il-sung University guide explains Kim Jong-il’s accomplishments, 1986

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—A military parade on Place Kim Il–sung to celebrate the anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Revolutionary Army, 1982

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Mass games for Kim Il-sung's birthday celebration, 1982

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—A veteran of the Korean War attends the Mass Games, 1997

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Mass games, 1997

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—The Korean Revolutionary Museum, 1982

NORTH KOREA—Local government and party officials pay respects to a statue of Kim Il–sung as a young military leader at Mount Paekdu, 1982.

HAMHUNG, North Korea—A traffic cop, 1981.

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Children at P’yongyang Students and Children's Palace, 1982

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—A barbershop for privileged citizens, 1981

CHONGIN, North Korea—1981

NORTH KOREA—A group of children on their way to visit the sites of Kim Il-sung's anti-Japanese guerilla activities near Mount Paekdu, 1983

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Citizens enjoy Korean barbecue in front of the Arch of Triumph, 1982

NORTH KOREA—Women at a heavy machinery factory near P’yongyang, 1982

NORTH KOREA—A subway car, 1982.

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—1981

NORTH KOREA—A huge billboard shows late president Kim Il-sung peering into a furnace in front of the main gate of the Kim Chaek Iron and Steel Complex, 1986

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Young pioneers beneath the Tower of the Juche Idea, 1997.

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—Taking flowers to the statue of Kim Il-sung in Mansu Hill, 1997

P’YONGYANG, North Korea—1997All Photos © Magnum Photos