0:00:02 > 0:00:06We have decided to expel
0:00:06 > 0:00:09the Tokyo BBC correspondent
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Rupert Wingfield-Hayes...
0:00:12 > 0:00:15It's not how I expected my trip to North Korea to end.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21This is the country the regime hoped I would show the world -
0:00:21 > 0:00:23a modern, showpiece capital...
0:00:25 > 0:00:27..with loyal, happy subjects...
0:00:29 > 0:00:31..and a growing nuclear arsenal.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36- One more go, one more go.- No. - One more go. One more go.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40'Instead, I got detained, interrogated and expelled.'
0:00:41 > 0:00:44It's been pretty exhausting, stressful.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49What did I do to cause such offence?
0:00:49 > 0:00:52And what does it say about the way this country works?
0:01:16 > 0:01:19So we've just landed at Pyongyang International Airport
0:01:19 > 0:01:21in North Korea.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24This is one of the most isolated, impoverished
0:01:24 > 0:01:26and repressive places on earth,
0:01:26 > 0:01:29and it's a place we still know so little about.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I have been invited to accompany a group of Nobel Prize winners,
0:01:39 > 0:01:42including British biologist Sir Richard Roberts.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47They're here to meet with students at the country's top universities.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53It's not the first time I've been here for the BBC.
0:01:53 > 0:01:5712 years ago, I came in from China, posing as a tourist.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01We've been told we mustn't do any filming from the train,
0:02:01 > 0:02:04but we haven't been given any reason why.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06The poverty was stark.
0:02:12 > 0:02:14Today, despite international sanctions,
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Pyongyang looks prosperous.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19There are taxis on the streets, new buildings
0:02:19 > 0:02:23and something that was not allowed back then, mobile phones.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33So here we are, number 24. This is our home for the next week.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37We arrive at a compound for visiting VIPs.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Well, this isn't what you really think
0:02:42 > 0:02:43Pyongyang is going to look like
0:02:43 > 0:02:45and, in fact, most of it doesn't.
0:02:45 > 0:02:47This looks more like an American suburb,
0:02:47 > 0:02:49but just 100 metres away is the gate.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Outside the gate, are the bustling streets of Pyongyang.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56'I try to take a walk into town.'
0:03:04 > 0:03:07So, yes, there's some frantic waving going on.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08Those are our minders.
0:03:10 > 0:03:11'There are a team of them
0:03:11 > 0:03:14'and their job is to accompany us wherever we go.'
0:03:15 > 0:03:18We were just going out to have a little walk, that's all.
0:03:18 > 0:03:19We're not going anywhere.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21No, actually, she's inviting you.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25- She's waiting actually, waiting for all of you.- I see.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27'One of the minders, Mr Kim,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30'tells me a senior official is at the guesthouse.'
0:03:30 > 0:03:33Yes, we just have to go back and get something...
0:03:33 > 0:03:36'It turned out not to be true, but my little stroll is over.'
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The next morning, we're taken to a giant tower
0:03:46 > 0:03:48on the bank of the Taedong River.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53So this is the tallest stone tower in the world.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58This is the memorial to the Juche Ideal,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01which is the sort of central principle
0:04:01 > 0:04:03of the Korean Workers' Party.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06There are several of these enormous, grandiose monuments
0:04:06 > 0:04:10throughout Pyongyang, and it's obligatory to visit some of them
0:04:10 > 0:04:12when you come here.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18The tower honours North Korea's own version of communism,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22a self-reliant nation ruled by an all-powerful leader.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28From the top, we can see a massive event is under way.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30For the first time in nearly 40 years,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33the regime is holding a Workers' Party congress.
0:04:36 > 0:04:40It's a big moment for the country's young leader, Kim Jong-un.
0:04:41 > 0:04:44When he succeeded his father Kim Jong-il four years ago,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46many predicted he would not last.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51But he has not only survived, he's consolidating power.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55So far, he seems to be popular,
0:04:55 > 0:04:58because people see the economic growth.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00Therefore, the young boy...
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Well, he might appear comical to us sometimes, to be frank,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06but he is probably...
0:05:07 > 0:05:09..the most popular North Korean leader
0:05:09 > 0:05:11in the last, say, quarter century.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19He has also been ruthless in removing potential enemies.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22One of his first moves was to kill
0:05:22 > 0:05:25a number of top officials and generals,
0:05:25 > 0:05:26including his own uncle.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32This defector fled the purge and is now in South Korea.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34- TRANSLATION:- The worst of Kim Jong-un's policies
0:05:34 > 0:05:37is his reign of terror and treating his people harshly.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42His father dealt with faults or crimes in the military
0:05:42 > 0:05:44with demotion and soft punishment.
0:05:44 > 0:05:46Now it is execution and purging.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51The Nobel Prize winners are here to promote dialogue
0:05:51 > 0:05:52with this regime.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56I want to ask Sir Richard Roberts if he is worried
0:05:56 > 0:05:58this trip might give it more legitimacy.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03'But as soon as I try, our minders step in to stop me.'
0:06:04 > 0:06:07You are going to have to let us do our job, OK?
0:06:07 > 0:06:09- LAUGHING:- Ya, ya, ya.
0:06:09 > 0:06:11I'm not asking to film the military,
0:06:11 > 0:06:13I am asking to film the Nobel laureates who are visiting,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16we are just going to do a little interview with them.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19I spent a lot of time in the Soviet Union during the Cold War,
0:06:19 > 0:06:22and there I know that talking to people and letting them know
0:06:22 > 0:06:24what was going on in the rest of the world
0:06:24 > 0:06:28was important to them, and maybe that can be important here too.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31- Just two more minutes. It's OK. - One minute, one minute.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36- Ready to go.- Yeah, but they're not going to go without us.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39'Sir Richard tells me his wife didn't want him to come.'
0:06:39 > 0:06:43She felt we would probably be used for propaganda purposes,
0:06:43 > 0:06:45in ways that were inappropriate.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47Which, to an extent, you will.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50- Of course.- We're not the only camera crew following you.
0:06:50 > 0:06:51Right, and that's fine.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53I am not here to help the North Koreans
0:06:53 > 0:06:56gain some respect in the world necessarily,
0:06:56 > 0:06:57unless they do something good.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59Have to hurry, it's the lunchtime.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01Two o'clock is the lunchtime, to the hospital.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04- OK.- For the children. We have to go, hurry.- OK.
0:07:11 > 0:07:15Our next stop is Pyongyang's new children's hospital, opened in 2013.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21This place is impressive - clean and modern.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23But we see very few patients.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34We are shown children exercising on adult gym equipment.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39None of them looks particularly sick.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44THEY READ ALOUD IN KOREAN
0:07:44 > 0:07:47Next door, another group is in class.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Again, the girls look remarkably well.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55One of the professors tries to find out more.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59She doesn't have to stand, I am just curious
0:07:59 > 0:08:02why she is in the hospital, why she is here.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06WOMAN ASKS QUESTION IN KOREAN
0:08:06 > 0:08:07GIRL REPEATS HERSELF
0:08:07 > 0:08:10And you are friends, together?
0:08:10 > 0:08:12MAN TRANSLATES
0:08:12 > 0:08:14- Yeah.- "Yeah, we are friends."
0:08:14 > 0:08:18But you didn't know one another before you came to the hospital?
0:08:18 > 0:08:21- That is right. - Wonderful. So, you see...
0:08:21 > 0:08:25It all feels a bit staged, but it's impossible to tell.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29So we ask to see children being treated by doctors.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32The answer is no.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Since we are in children's hospital,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38we have to respect the rules and regulations of this hospital.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40I hope you understand that.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44So this is the real difficulty in North Korea, trying to get
0:08:44 > 0:08:46an idea of what's real and what's not real.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48Everywhere we've been in this hospital,
0:08:48 > 0:08:49well, it looks like a set-up,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53like it has been pre-scripted, it's a performance for us.
0:08:53 > 0:08:57It's impressive, there's modern equipment, it's clean, it's modern,
0:08:57 > 0:09:00but how much of it is real and how much does it represent
0:09:00 > 0:09:02the reality of the rest of this country?
0:09:02 > 0:09:03We just don't know.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Later, Sir Richard Roberts WAS allowed
0:09:08 > 0:09:10to return here without us.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14After the trip, I asked him what he had seen.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16There were a lot of people, a lot of patients,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18a lot of activity in the hospital.
0:09:18 > 0:09:23We went over to the diagnostic labs and that was all rather good too,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28it was fairly primitive, but I think everything we saw,
0:09:28 > 0:09:29they had done extremely well,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32given the limitations that the sanctions have
0:09:32 > 0:09:34necessarily imposed on them.
0:09:35 > 0:09:39But defectors say outside Pyongyang, hospitals look nothing like this.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43Choi Joo Yeon recently escaped from
0:09:43 > 0:09:46North Korea's third largest city, Chongjin.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- TRANSLATION:- It is like night and day when you compare
0:09:53 > 0:09:55Pyongyang and Chongjin.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58We do have hospitals, but compared to Pyongyang,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01they are old and lack equipment.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Medical care is supposed to be free,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06but you have to give the doctors money,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09and the hospitals have no medicines.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11So you have to buy medicine.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16THEY SCREAM
0:10:18 > 0:10:22It's Sunday afternoon at the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground,
0:10:22 > 0:10:24and the place is packed.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27Is this going to be scary?
0:10:27 > 0:10:29IN ENGLISH:
0:10:30 > 0:10:32Here we go, good luck.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36I have got my foot to the floor!
0:10:38 > 0:10:39Hey, leave me alone!
0:10:44 > 0:10:47When I was last here, there was nothing like this.
0:10:47 > 0:10:51Since Kim Jong-un took power, several of these new funfairs
0:10:51 > 0:10:53and water parks have gone up in the capital.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55So how was it? How was it?
0:10:57 > 0:11:02I have taken this several times, but each time I have the...
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- I am always excited!- Yeah?- Woohoo!
0:11:08 > 0:11:11So can I ask, where did you learn English?
0:11:11 > 0:11:13Oh, I am a student of Kim Il-sung University.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16- Kim Il-sung University?- Yeah.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Hello.
0:11:17 > 0:11:18'And he is not alone.'
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Do you speak English?
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Where'd you learn English?
0:11:22 > 0:11:24I am studying in Kim Il-sung University.
0:11:24 > 0:11:27- In Kim Il-sung University?- Yes. - What subject are you studying?
0:11:27 > 0:11:29- Uh... - HER FRIENDS LAUGH
0:11:29 > 0:11:31It's difficult. Finance?
0:11:31 > 0:11:33- Finance.- Finance.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35I study in Kim Il-sung university.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- You also study in Kim Il-sung University?- Yes, yes.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40This park seems to be full of students
0:11:40 > 0:11:42from Kim Il-sung University.
0:11:42 > 0:11:45Have they been brought in for our benefit?
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Again, it's impossible to know.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Even here, it's hard to tell
0:11:51 > 0:11:53how much this represents the reality of life here,
0:11:53 > 0:11:57whether this is a bubble, Pyongyang is a bubble,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00and these people are from the elite.
0:12:00 > 0:12:03PEOPLE ON RIDE SCREAM
0:12:06 > 0:12:09'We spot something our minder doesn't want us to film -
0:12:09 > 0:12:11'a hot dog stand.'
0:12:11 > 0:12:13Ya, ya, ya, let us go.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16'It seems we have stumbled on a bit of North Korean free enterprise.'
0:12:16 > 0:12:20He just wants to film the hot dog cooking.
0:12:20 > 0:12:22'But why are they trying to hide it?'
0:12:23 > 0:12:27They are really afraid to admit any change,
0:12:27 > 0:12:31because any official admission of a serious ideological change
0:12:31 > 0:12:34might be politically destabilising, so they pretend
0:12:34 > 0:12:38that they are still living in the old Stalinist state.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47But private enterprise is being allowed to flourish,
0:12:47 > 0:12:49especially outside the capital.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53This secretly shot video shows a market
0:12:53 > 0:12:55close to the Chinese border.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01These markets are, in theory, still illegal,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03but they're essential for survival,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06to prevent a return to the terrible famines of the 1990s.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13- TRANSLATION:- I was born in 1993.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15That's when the national rations stopped
0:13:15 > 0:13:19and because of that a lot of people died from starvation.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22People didn't know how to survive, but now,
0:13:22 > 0:13:24they've learnt by becoming merchants
0:13:24 > 0:13:25and trading in markets.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29But still, living conditions are not good,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31so you have to fight for survival.
0:13:34 > 0:13:36After three days, our first report on the trip
0:13:36 > 0:13:38is broadcast on the BBC.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42North Korea is making last-minute preparations
0:13:42 > 0:13:46'for a once-in-a-generation congress of its ruling elite.'
0:13:46 > 0:13:49It didn't take long for our hosts to react.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52They called us to a meeting.
0:13:52 > 0:13:54They were very angry that I'd described the hospital
0:13:54 > 0:13:57as being "set up" and that I'd referred to
0:13:57 > 0:13:59the young people we'd met at the funfair as being
0:13:59 > 0:14:01"children of the elite".
0:14:02 > 0:14:06The greatest anger was caused by a headline written back in London
0:14:06 > 0:14:09that wrongly used the words "fake doctors."
0:14:09 > 0:14:12It was quickly changed, but the damage was done.
0:14:12 > 0:14:16The Nobel Prize winners became very concerned.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19The North Koreans told them their trip was now in jeopardy.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23The first reaction that they had was that
0:14:23 > 0:14:26they would not want you to do any further filming.
0:14:26 > 0:14:31It wasn't clear, at least to us,
0:14:31 > 0:14:33to what extent they were going to try to be
0:14:33 > 0:14:35co-operative in our visit.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39But cooperation does continue
0:14:39 > 0:14:42and the next day, we're taken to Kim Il-sung University,
0:14:42 > 0:14:46named after the current leader's grandfather.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54The performances are a display of loyalty to the Kim family dynasty.
0:14:54 > 0:14:57This number - Young People Be Loyal To Our Party.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03THEY SING IN KOREAN
0:15:08 > 0:15:10I had a good schooling, we had public libraries...
0:15:10 > 0:15:13Sir Richard Roberts is answering questions
0:15:13 > 0:15:16from students whose English is impressively fluent.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18My question is,
0:15:18 > 0:15:22when was the happiest time of your life as a scientist?
0:15:22 > 0:15:24- LAUGHTER - Very personal question.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27Sir Richard feels free to speak his mind.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Kids need to be creative, they need to do their own thing,
0:15:32 > 0:15:36shouldn't listen to the adults too much.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38The adults often don't know what is best for you.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39Very often...
0:15:39 > 0:15:42But how free are these students to think for themselves?
0:15:44 > 0:15:48I think outside the DPRK, we think that it's very restricted,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50what you're able to read, for example, science journals,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52science and nature and access to the internet,
0:15:52 > 0:15:54so I'm just curious, what's it like?
0:15:54 > 0:15:56No, we have free access to
0:15:56 > 0:16:00read all the books, almost all the books from the outside world.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02Have you got access to the internet?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05We have many chances to get to the internet.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07And you can read...
0:16:07 > 0:16:09You can go on Google and look up things in English?
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Oh, yes, Google, yeah, right.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Next door is the university's shiny new computer lab.
0:16:17 > 0:16:2012 years ago, there was no internet here,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22so what can they access now?
0:16:22 > 0:16:25So can we put in bbc.co.uk?
0:16:28 > 0:16:30'The excuses begin immediately.'
0:16:32 > 0:16:34- So this one's busy?- Yes.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37- So there's another one we can look at?- Yes, OK.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39OK, we'll go and look at this one.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42What subject are you studying?
0:16:44 > 0:16:46Computer technology?
0:16:46 > 0:16:49'If anybody knows how to use the internet, this guy should.'
0:16:59 > 0:17:03- Uh, intra...- Yeah, intranet.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12So the server is not working.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18'But the minders insist the system is just temporarily down.'
0:17:20 > 0:17:23- Very busy.- Internet Explorer? What explorer is it?
0:17:23 > 0:17:28Across the room, Sir Richard Roberts is asking the same question.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32I'm just trying to find out how accessible stuff is,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35because if you're a scientist, these days,
0:17:35 > 0:17:38if you don't have access to the internet, you're dead.
0:17:41 > 0:17:43NUMBERS DIAL ON PHONE
0:17:43 > 0:17:46If these students DO have access to the internet,
0:17:46 > 0:17:48then it is very tightly controlled.
0:17:52 > 0:17:54What I'm concerned about is that they can't be honest
0:17:54 > 0:17:57about the fact that they only have limited access.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59For them to pretend that they do
0:17:59 > 0:18:02have complete access is silly.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Information is becoming harder to control.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Defectors say the internet and foreign media
0:18:14 > 0:18:16are now a serious threat to the regime.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21These secretly filmed pictures show North Koreans
0:18:21 > 0:18:23watching a South Korean TV drama.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Vast numbers of DVDs are being smuggled in from China.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36- TRANSLATION:- The way we learn about life overseas
0:18:36 > 0:18:39is that we watch a lot of soap operas.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42They're smuggled into North Korea with other items.
0:18:42 > 0:18:44They make us wonder why North Korea
0:18:44 > 0:18:46can't produce such things itself.
0:18:47 > 0:18:49It makes us doubt ourselves.
0:18:53 > 0:18:56- TRANSLATION:- I watched a lot of South Korean soaps
0:18:56 > 0:18:58and US movies when I was in North Korea.
0:18:58 > 0:19:00I remember feeling really tense.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03In the old days, the punishment was a few months in prison.
0:19:03 > 0:19:06But after Kim Jong-un took over,
0:19:06 > 0:19:07it could mean execution.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15According to North Korean state media,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18dozens have been executed for watching foreign TV.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23DRAMATIC FANFARE
0:19:26 > 0:19:29It's the evening performance at the Pyongyang Children's Palace.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38CHILDREN SING
0:19:41 > 0:19:43Even children here are taught
0:19:43 > 0:19:45they must be constantly prepared for war.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Tonight, they're celebrating the latest missile launch.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05Kim Jong-un is determined
0:20:05 > 0:20:07his country will become a full nuclear power.
0:20:15 > 0:20:20In June, the country tested one of these - a Musudan ballistic missile.
0:20:25 > 0:20:27Within a decade, North Korea's aim
0:20:27 > 0:20:31is to have nuclear weapons capable of hitting the United States.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37When I was at Kim Il-sung University, I asked one of
0:20:37 > 0:20:40the students why it's so important.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42I just wanted to ask you...
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Can you not stand in the shot, can you stand back a bit?
0:20:45 > 0:20:48Why do you think the DPRK needs nuclear weapons?
0:20:48 > 0:20:50IN ENGLISH:
0:21:06 > 0:21:08So when...
0:21:08 > 0:21:09Sorry to interrupt you.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11THEY SPEAK IN KOREAN
0:21:13 > 0:21:14Thank you.
0:21:17 > 0:21:23They will have a few dozen missiles armed with nuclear warheads,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25located in their kind of silos
0:21:25 > 0:21:28or protected facilities across the country and aimed at
0:21:28 > 0:21:30the major American cities,
0:21:30 > 0:21:34but probably maybe cities in South Korea, Japan and China.
0:21:34 > 0:21:41More than 50% of the hard cash in North Korea is poured into
0:21:41 > 0:21:43nuclear programme,
0:21:43 > 0:21:47because they believe that only this nuclear arsenal
0:21:47 > 0:21:53can defend North Korean regime and its political system.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56MARCHING BAND PLAYS
0:21:59 > 0:22:02If nuclear weapons are one pillar of regime survival,
0:22:02 > 0:22:05the other is the cult of the Kim dynasty.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10While we were in Pyongyang, hundreds of thousands joined this parade
0:22:10 > 0:22:13to celebrate the Workers' Party Congress.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29My minders show the same reverence
0:22:29 > 0:22:32in front of a statue of Kim Jong-un's father, Kim Jong-il.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34And I'm expected to do so too.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Our minder, Mr Kim here,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42said I'm not allowed to put my hands in my pockets,
0:22:42 > 0:22:43because this is a sacred site
0:22:43 > 0:22:47and that's the reverence that the Kim family is treated with here.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- Just wanted to have one more go. - No, no.- One more go.
0:22:50 > 0:22:51- No, no.- One more go. One more go...
0:22:51 > 0:22:55'I don't know what I've said wrong, but it appears I've crossed a line.'
0:22:55 > 0:22:58What's... What's so sensitive?
0:22:58 > 0:23:01Is it because you think I'm saying something disrespectful
0:23:01 > 0:23:02about your former president?
0:23:04 > 0:23:06- Bit.- A bit.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12'We're taken into a building and told we can't leave
0:23:12 > 0:23:14'until we've deleted the material.
0:23:14 > 0:23:16'It seems I've committed a serious offence.'
0:23:23 > 0:23:26- TRANSLATION:- The North Korean regime is like a religion.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28People are brainwashed from birth to death,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31so it's hard for them to realise.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34North Korea has managed to survive based on loyalty,
0:23:34 > 0:23:39supported by this religion, but it's different now.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41Now it's a reign of terror
0:23:41 > 0:23:45and it's fear that allows North Korea to survive.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54In fact, we had not deleted the material of the statue incident
0:23:54 > 0:23:57and in our next broadcast we decide to use some of it.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01This time our minders were much more angry.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05They burst into our villa uninvited, red in the face,
0:24:05 > 0:24:08and they were shouting. They said, "Let's not play games."
0:24:11 > 0:24:14It's now the final day of our trip
0:24:14 > 0:24:17and we're at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.
0:24:17 > 0:24:19Our minders are now openly hostile.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24IN ENGLISH:
0:24:28 > 0:24:31From this point, we're not allowed to do any more filming.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37The next day, we're due to go home.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40With some relief, we head to the airport.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45But at Passport Control, I'm seized by border guards
0:24:45 > 0:24:47and driven back into the capital.
0:24:49 > 0:24:52This is video shot by North Korean state security agents
0:24:52 > 0:24:55inside the interrogation room.
0:24:55 > 0:24:58You can see how disoriented I look and scared.
0:24:58 > 0:25:02They've taken me away from my team, isolated me in this hotel
0:25:02 > 0:25:04and then the interrogation began.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07One played the good cop, one played the bad cop
0:25:07 > 0:25:10and then they presented the evidence against me.
0:25:11 > 0:25:15Articles I had written for the BBC website.
0:25:15 > 0:25:17They claimed the words "grim-faced"
0:25:17 > 0:25:20meant I thought Korean people were ugly
0:25:20 > 0:25:24and that a "barked" order showed I thought they had voices like dogs.
0:25:26 > 0:25:32These are my interrogators and they now threaten to put me on trial.
0:25:32 > 0:25:37The one on the left tells me he prosecuted this man, Kenneth Bae,
0:25:37 > 0:25:41a Korean-American who spent two years in a North Korean prison camp.
0:25:42 > 0:25:44Would the same now happen to me?
0:25:45 > 0:25:49After ten hours, my boss finds out where I'm being held
0:25:49 > 0:25:51and negotiations begin.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53We agree I'll write a letter apologising
0:25:53 > 0:25:57to the North Korean people for the offence I have caused.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01Finally, at 3.30, the interrogation ends.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08But for two more days, I am prevented from leaving the country.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12Then we're told there will be an official statement.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15HE SPEAKS IN KOREAN
0:26:19 > 0:26:25We have decided to expel the Tokyo BBC correspondent
0:26:25 > 0:26:30Rupert Wingfield-Hayes from the territory of the DPRK and we
0:26:30 > 0:26:33are going to never admit him again.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39They say I've insulted the Kim dynasty and the North Korean people.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42But compared to some, I'm getting off lightly.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46Three other Westerners are still in prison here. I'm leaving.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52It's been pretty exhausting, stressful, and...
0:26:54 > 0:26:56..I'll be very happy when I'm on that plane.
0:26:58 > 0:27:02I think our main surprise was that that had not happened earlier,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06because the North Koreans were very upset with you.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08But I think you must have been aware
0:27:08 > 0:27:10that this sort of thing does happen in North Korea.
0:27:10 > 0:27:18You criticised Kim Jong-un inside North Korea, in Pyongyang.
0:27:18 > 0:27:24And in the area that their power works, in the area they control,
0:27:24 > 0:27:26so you were expelled from Pyongyang.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30We're not going to make any statements now...
0:27:30 > 0:27:32'By the time we land in Beijing,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35'news of my expulsion has been flashed around the world.'
0:27:35 > 0:27:36..but just relieved to be out.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39'Pyongyang has published my apology letter to humiliate me
0:27:39 > 0:27:43'and to show other journalists the danger of stepping out of line.'
0:27:43 > 0:27:45REPORTERS ASK QUESTIONS
0:27:45 > 0:27:46Sorry, guys.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00A few weeks later, I'm in South Korea,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02heading towards the border with the north.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07As long as Kim Jong-un remains in power,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10this border post will be as close as I can get.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15I didn't go to North Korea to try and get into trouble
0:28:15 > 0:28:16or to insult the leadership.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20I went to try and understand how the country works,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23to try and see beyond the normal facade.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Instead, what I found is that facade is bigger and more elaborate
0:28:26 > 0:28:28than I had ever thought.
0:28:28 > 0:28:29SINGING
0:28:29 > 0:28:34Pyongyang's giant shows of unity mask a deep insecurity.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37North Korea's economy is improving,
0:28:37 > 0:28:40but life for most here remains harsh.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Many now know they are poorer and less free than people
0:28:43 > 0:28:46in South Korea and even China.
0:28:46 > 0:28:49The cult of the Kim dynasty is unchallenged,
0:28:49 > 0:28:51but is maintained through fear,
0:28:51 > 0:28:53backed up by nuclear weapons.