North Korean soldiers and civilians pose for souvenir photos in front of a fountain as they tour the grounds of Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, the mausoleum where the bodies of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il lie embalmed, in Pyongyang on April 25, 2013. North Korea on Thursday marked the 81st anniversary of the founding of its military, which began as an anti-Japanese militia and now has an estimated 1.2-million troops.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

A North Korean boy on rollerblades is pulled by a woman on a bicycle on April 24, 2013, on a road south of Kaesong, North Korea and north of the demilitarized zone which separates the two Koreas.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

A North Korean boy rides in a bicycle’s basket on a road north of Kaesong, North Korea on April 24, 2013.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

A child covers the eyes of her father as she sits on his shoulders watching mass folk dancing in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium to celebrate the birthday of the country’s first leader, Kim Il-sung on April 15, 2013.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

A North Korean woman walks past the outer wall of a construction site where a propaganda billboard depicting the launch of North Korean rockets in Pyongyang on April 13, 2013. The billboard reads: “Let’s open up an era to a strong economic country.”

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

North Koreans dance beneath a painting of late leader Kim Il Sung during a mass folk dancing gathering in Pyongyang on April 11, 2013. The gathering marked the anniversary of the first of many titles of power given to leader Kim Jong Un after the death of his father Kim Jong Il.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

Photos showing example hair styles hang inside a hair salon in Pyongyang, North Korea on Feb. 20, 2013. North Korean women have a choice of 18 officially sanctioned haircuts which have been approved by officials wanting to clamp down on western influences. Likewise, the strict guidelines also apply for men.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

Female North Korean traffic police officers gather in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il to pay their respects in Pyongyang, North Korea on Feb. 16, 2013.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

North Korean children play with the camera of a visiting Associated Press photographer as people gather in front of bronze statues of the late leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea on Feb. 16, 2013. North Koreans turned out to commemorate what would have been the 71th birthday of Kim Jong Il who died on Dec. 17, 2011.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

North Korean synchronized swimmers perform at a mass synchronized swimming exhibition event in Pyongyang on Feb. 15, 2013.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

North Korean performers flip colored cards to form a giant picture of a handgun during an Arirang mass games performance in Pyongyang, North Korea, Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

The sun sets over the city, seen from a hotel room in Pyongyang, North Korea on August 7, 2012.

[Credit : David Guttenfelder/AP]

timelightbox:

Oct. 8, 2011. A North Korean man rests near a farm field along a highway outside the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, North Korea.

David Guttenfelder has just received two honors from the Overseas Press Club. The Olivier Rebbot Award for best photographic reporting from abroad, in magazines or books, and the Feature Photography Award for best feature photography, published in any medium on an international theme, recognize his recent work from last year’s tsunami aftermath in Japan and his work inside North Korea. See more here.