Here are 20 shocking photos of North Korea that Kim Jong Un wouldn't want the world to see

North Korea's Kim Jong Un is one of the most difficult leaders in the world, who has strongly kept a close watch over the affair of his country including the media and restricting his citizens of the things they should know globally.

These shocking photos by Business Insider, The New York Times, GETTY, BBC, Reuters, Quartz, Washington Post and The White House show how the country lives in poverty, how the government tightly controls most aspects of life.

It was also claimed that tens of thousands of people are held as political prisoners in the country.

See the pshocking hotos and read the captions below.

Malnutrition Affects A Shocking Amount Of Children — Roughly 28% Of Kids Under Five Years Old Have Stunted Growth.

South Korean Christian Yoo Dae-Sung Holds Photos Of What He Says Are Starving North Korean Children At A Rally In Seoul Criticizing The Infringement Of Human Rights In North Korea On December 9, 2009. Reuters/Choi Bu-Seok

Source: The New York Times

The Worms, Some Of Which Reached 11 Inches Long, Showed Just How Poor Conditions In North Korea Are. The Country Still Uses Human Excrement To Fertilize Its Crops, Which Can Spread Parasites.

The Defector's Surgeon Presents His Findings.CNN

Sources: The New York Times, Business Insider

The Hermit Kingdom Is One Of The Most Closed-Off Places In The World, And Has Experienced Increasingly Severe Food Shortages In Recent Years.

Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Source: Business Insider

One Getty Photographer, Xiaolu Chu, Traveled Through North Korea By Train In 2015 And Said He Noticed Scores Of People In Rural Villages Begging For Money. He Shared Some Of His Photos With Business Insider.

A Little Boy Begs For Food On The Platform In Hamhung Railway Station On August 21, 2015 In Hamhung, North Korea.

Source: Xiaolu Chu/Getty

One Of The Most Telling Aspects Of North Korean Life Is Its Military. Kim Jong Un Loves To Show Of The Country's Military Might, Holding Flashy Parades And Showing Off Propaganda Photos Of Vast Armies Of Marching Soldiers.

Source: Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Defections Aren't Uncommon, Though The Number That Crossed The South Korean Border Dropped Sharply In 2017 To 1,127, Down 21% From The Previous Year.

A North Korean Soldier Keeps Watch On November 27, 2017 In Front Of Their Guard Post Just Next To A Spot Where A North Korean Defected. Reuters/Kim Jong-Hi

Source: Quartz

But It's More Rare To Capture Photos That Show The Flip-Side Of Military Life — Soldiers Are Often Malnourished Or Ill Because Of Lack Of Food Availability And Rigorous Training.

A North Korean Soldier Kicks A Goat On The Banks Of The Yalu River Near Sinuiju On July 5, 2009.

Source: Reuters

Childhood In North Korea Is Particularly Difficult. Many Children In Rural Areas Have To Work On Farms And Much Of The Country's Economic Output Is Driven By Forced Labor.

A North Korean Boy Holds A Spade In A Corn Field In Area Damaged By Floods And Typhoons In The Soksa-Ri Collective Farm In The South Hwanghae Province September 29, 2011. Damir Sagolj/Reuters

Sources: Business Insider, Human Rights Watch

Poverty And Hunger Are Most Acute In North Korea's Countryside. An Estimated 41% Of The Population, 10.5 Million People, Are Believed To Be Undernourished.

The Evening Sunlight Falls On The Face Of A North Korean Woman As She Rests By The Pothong River On Sunday, July 23, 2017, In North Korea. Wong Maye-E (Associated Press)

Sources: Business Insider, The New York Times

Another Disturbing Aspect Of North Korean Life Are Its Notorious Prison Camps Where Ordinary Citizens Are Kept Trapped In Appalling Conditions, Often Over Minor Infractions That Wouldn't Even Be Considered Crimes In Other Countries.
Jongo-Ri Prison Camp In North Korea Google Earth

Source: Washington Post

"There Are Nearly No Fat People In North Korea," Chu Told Business Insider. "Everyone Looks Very Thin."
People cool down at a train carriage door on August 24, 2015, North Korea.

Source: Xiaolu Chu/Getty

And There's Not Much Access To The Internet — People Make Do With A Closed-Off Computer Network System Accessible In Only A Handful Of Places, Like This Library In Pyongyang.

People Read At The Grand People's Study House On Monday, July 24, 2017, In Pyongyang, North Korea. Wong Maye-E (Associated Press)

Source: BBC

One Soldier Defected Last Year, And His Fellow Soldiers Shot Him Five Times As He Made His Escape. Surgeons In South Korea Then Made A Shocking Discovery As They Rushed To Treat His Wounds — His Bowels Were Riddled With Long, White Worms.

Source: Business Insider

Ji Left His Homeland In 2006, Crossing Thousands Of Miles On Crutches After Enduring Years Of Hunger, Grievous Injuries After Falling On Train Tracks, And Torture At The Hands Of North Korean Police.

North Korean Defector Ji Seong-Ho Gives An Interview In The News Briefing Room At The White House In Washington On January 31, 2018.

Source: Reuters/Leah Millis

"I Understand You Still Keep Those Crutches As A Reminder Of How Far You Have Come," Trump Said During His State Of The Union Speech. "Seong-Ho's Story Is A Testament To The Yearning Of Every Human Soul To Live In Freedom."
Wooden Crutches Of North Korean Defector Ji Seong-Ho Which He Used When He Defected, Are Seen In Seoul, South Korea, August 13, 2017.

Source: Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji

That Freedom Is Far From Reality For Many Still In Kim Jong Un's North Korea.
A Schoolgirl Walks By As North Korean Students And Volunteers Work To Repair The Water Supply System In Haeju, Capital Of The South Hwanghae Province Hit By Floods And Typhoons On October 1, 2011.

Source: Reuters/Damir Sagolj

A young girl plays on a safety rail at the carpark in front a local department store on Sunday, July 23, 2017, in Pyongyang, North Korea. Wong Maye-E (Associated Press)