Wish you were here? What you can expect from your North Korean holiday itinerary

Kim Jung-un’s brutal regime has earned a reputation for oppressing its own citizens and threatening other countries around the world. Despite this, tour companies are still willing to take UK citizens on a five-day tour starting from £1,340.

For those interested in a longer stay trips of up to 17 days can be booked with activities including, laying flowers at the feet of 20-metre tall statues of Kim Jong-il and Kim Il-sung.

You will also have the opportunity to see the leaders embalmed bodies in the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun as well as time to pick up a postcard, the Regent Holiday website boasts.

The tour company have provided their top five highlights of a tour to North Korea in an attempt to persuade any one still unsure if a trip to Kim’s dictatorship is for them.

The DMZ comes in top of the highlights list – a popular tourist destination for visitors to South Korea a visit from the North will give travels another view on one of the world’s most built up borders.

The website reads: “Situated on the infamous 38th parallel where, in the aftermath of World War II, the USA and the Soviet Union split the country into two, the DMZ remains a living and breathing example of the tensions between South Korea and the DPRK. 

“Here, it is possible to enter one of the border-straddling huts where negotiations between the two new countries took place – where by passing the negotiating table in the centre of the room, you are technically walking into South Korea.”

The second entry on this list, Mount Myohyang, will come for visitors at the end of a two and a half hour coach ride.

The area offers amazing views of the largely untouched countryside outside of Pyongyang and is an excellent picnic spot, it is revealed.

Visiting the capitals grand underground also features, which boasts marble stairs, detailed murals and huge chandeliers.

The tour operator adds: “The metro stations themselves are christened with stirring names such as ‘Triumph’, ‘Three Rejuvenations’ and ‘Innovation’ and many have been built to reflect the classic opulence of the state buildings above ground. 

“With its spiralling columns, oversized chandeliers and pretty frescos, Yonggwang (Glory) Station is arguably the pick of the bunch.”

Music and circus performance is reported as another highlight to potential holidaymakers.

North Korea is well known for its obsessively drilled performance artists.

The North and South have recently held talks ahead of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, as Pyongyang seeks to negotiate sending a delegation including their famous cheerleaders.

The holiday company boasts: “No tour to North Korea would be complete without sitting down to a performance or two, with the School Children’s Palace, the Pyongyang Circus, the Pyongyang Symphony Orchestra and various schools all eager to show off their world-class talent. 

“Whether you are watching a toddler sing folk songs in an orphanage, a 1,000-strong orchestra playing rousing classics, or acrobats defying the laws of physics, you will likely be astonished (and perhaps even slightly perturbed) by these unerring displays of pure dedication, concentration and proficiency.”

While the great Mansudae Grand Monument featuring the nations former dictators set on bronze is completes the list of highlights.

The travel information reads: “There is no escaping the images of the former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il while in North Korea. 

“Nearly every street corner is adorned with a grand mosaic of the leaders posing heroically, while many buildings and squares also contain gallant statues of the Eternal President surrounded by happy citizens.”