Train to Pyongyang?

The 160-meter flagpole, entered in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's tallest, seen from Dorasan Observatory.

The flag pole is located in Kijong-dong, within the DMZ on the North Korean side. Kijong-dong is said to be a former village built up with fancy apartment blocks, but no inhabitants – hence its common name "Propaganda Village".

I look forward to the day when I no longer have to peep into N Korea from a distance. The hardware is almost ready, with Dorasan Station promising to be the starting point of the transcontinental railway.

Dorasan station is 205km from Pyeongyang, 56km from Seoul. Because it is the northernmost station of South Korea in the southern boundary line, Dorasan Station will play the role of CIQ (customs, immigration and quarantine) for Chinese and Russian people and goods as well as the North Koreans when the traffic is possible between the two Koreas.

This is not the case at the moment. Currently visitors are met with a quiet and empty waiting hall and these silent images of hope.