A series of photos capturing the full spectrum of life inside North Korea has been released a couple of days after Kim Jong-un’s first year as the country’s leader. He took over from his father, Kim Jong-ill, on 17 December 2011.

In his New Year’s Day message on Tuesday, Jong-un promised that 2013 will be a year of “radical turnabout” for his country.

The images in the gallery below were taken over the past couple of months – either by official photographers, or by western photographers – under government supervision, and with their subjects and movement restricted.

The picture above features our dear leader preparing to take a ride with other high-level officials during the opening ceremony of the Rungna People’s Pleasure Ground.

Some of the other images captured include fireworks exploding in the sky over Pyongyang as part of North Korea’s New Year festivities, the launch of the Unha-3 rocket in December, and a group of war veterans arriving to attend 27 July’s “War Victory Day” celebrations.

You’ll also see Kim Jong-un smoking a cigarette and getting mobbed by a group of female soldiers.

[Source: The Atlantic]