North Korea is arguably the most secretive nation in the world.
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Only one road in the world leads from Russia to North Korea — and you can take a trip down it on Google Maps
North Korea is entirely shrouded on Google Maps — but some parts just outside its border aren't.
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It shares long borders with China to its north, and also with South Korea. But the third, and by far the shortest, frontier is an 11-mile stretch of land it shares with Russia.
Unlike the Chinese border, the Russian one has allowed access to Google's camera cars, which can come pretty close to the Korea Russia Friendship Bridge ("Druzhny Bridge" in Russia), a rail link between the two nations.
Peek into North Korea from Linenaya Ulitsa, a road along North Korea's 11-border with Russia, through these 2013 photos:
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North Korea is notoriously secretive and hidden from Google Maps' Street View function — all the areas not in blue can't be accessed on the service.
The regions of Primorsky, Russia, and Josan-ri, North Korea, are divided by the Tumen River, a 320-mile long river along North Korea's border with China and Russia. There's Google Maps imagery up to the tip of Linenaya Ulitsa, a road that stops just before the river.
Tourists in Yanbian, a Chinese prefecture that shares borders with both North Korea and Russia, can peer into North Korea at a designated observation point, where you can see the rail bridge.
Welcome to Linenaya Ulitsa (ulitsa means "street" in Russian). According to these July 2013 photos, there isn't much activity around here — mainly a lot of greenery.
Across the grass, you can see a bit of the Tumen River, which snakes around the northern North Korea and borders China and Russia. This is the closest we can get to North Korea from Russia on Google Maps.
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Most North Korean refugees try to escape into China via this shallow and narrow body of water, according to the Financial Times.
In the distance of this photo is also tall tower with a multi-tiered roof with upturned eaves — an architecture style common in ancient China, Korea, and Japan. To its left is a shorter building, which looks like a control tower.
Keep going along Linenaya Ulitsa, and you'll see a gateway and a small hut.
Beyond the gate is a pretty deserted lane, with some greenery concealing a few houses.
At the end of the lane lies a lone, small house, which appears to pave the way to more greenery. The Street View imagery stops past this point.
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The house overlooks utility poles and some more trees, which eventually lead to the Tumen River and eventually, North Korea. All of this might look slightly different now, however — footage that emerged last April showed Russia sending tanks, troops, and at least three trainloads of military equipment to this region.
Source: Daily Mail
Linenaya Ulitsa is the closest we can get to the Druzhny Bridge, or the Bridge of Friendship, which straddles Russia and North Korea. This 2003 photo shows it up close.
The Druzhny Bridge is reportedly closed off to tourists, but an Austrian travel blogger said he and his friend snuck onto it and entered North Korea's Tumangang station in September 2008. He said they were worried about their fate upon arriving at North Korea, but luckily didn't run into any problems.
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