Behind the scenes in the DPRK

[Photo/Xinhua]

"This was a real labor of love for Nick," says Cunningham. "What he accomplished in the years he worked on the film is quite remarkable given the logistical issues of working in the DPRK. The movie and story are a great mix of Korean and Western cinema."

These days Koryo Tours takes around 2,000 people a year to the country to visit Soviet-era factories, cycle through its verdant rice paddies, play amateur football or ice hockey games with local teams, or just marvel at a land trapped in time.

There are also tours for marathon runners, cyclists, golfers and even the Koryo Veterans Tour for those like Cunningham who thirst for something new.

After the reclusive state recently repealed a tourism ban from mid-December to mid-January - no reason was given for its implementation or removal - tourists can even spend New Year's Eve enjoying fireworks in Kim Sung-il Square and taking boat rides.

Cockerell was courtside when former NBA star Dennis Rodman sang Happy Birthday to Kim Jong-un at an exhibition basketball game in January. He described the impromptu ditty as exactly the kind of unexpected twist that is drawing hordes of long-term Asia expatriates and others to the country.

Despite the bluster from the state-run KNCA about a "sea of fire" raining down on Seoul and Washington, about one-quarter of all tourists who visit are from the United States. Until restrictions were lifted in 2010, US tourists were only granted visas for up to four days.

They can now travel year-round instead of only during the Mass Games, which run for two to three months in the summer on those years when the country has something to celebrate.

Several days after the recent US-DPRK basketball games in Pyongyang, Cockerell crossed paths with Rodman at Masik Pass. He said Rodman, who is reportedly helping the DPRK set up a professional basketball league, had "already had a few drinks by that point". Tact being a trick of the trade, he didn't elaborate.

Cockerell also shared the slopes with the DPRK's answer to the Spice Girls - a 25-member Moranbong Band, and was invited to eat Korean barbecue at the end of one of the runs by friendly soju-swilling locals.