Central Park in Pyongyang, North Korea

Pyongyang, North Korea (AP) - A little boy jumping to summarize a hand classmate, her cheeks, and a sign of great leader's smiling face is attached to its Winnie the Pooh sweatshirt. The men from army green a joke over a beer in a pub near the German Juche Tower. Schoolgirls red scarves of the Young Pioneers sway in unison as they sing a traditional song Korean, I learned as a child.

Wherever I look, communist North Korea is a world both foreign and familiar to my eyes Korean-American, a place where men wear suits and children's backpack bags Mao Mickey Mouse, they call each other " partner "and love your spicy kimchi.

Currently, the Seoul bureau chief for the Associated Press in 2008, I made five eye-opening visits to North Korea. Chief Asia photographer David Guttenfelder has traveled the country on numerous occasions over the past 12 years.