Man who flew drone into North Korea from China to capture incredible footage responds after everyone shares same concern

A man who managed to fly a drone over China's border with North Korea has spoken out.

On Tuesday (March 26), Redditor XiaoHao2 took to the social media platform to share the outcome of his dangerous drone mission.

It's thought the footage was taken during lockdown in 2020.

While he was still in China, he flew his device over the border and managed to snap some images of the famously private country to give some insight into what it's like to live there.

"Drone pics of North Korea, I was in China, my drone flew across the border," he captioned the Reddit post that has been upvoted 138,000 times in just 48 hours.

There were a handful of images, with some showing North Korean residents appearing to spot the drone.

Other photographs were of buildings, including a government one.

In light of North Korea's extremely strict rules in the country - especially as it closed its borders to outsiders in 2020 - fellow social media users penned their concerns about the man who took the drone footage.

"I wish you the best, hope you're safe. Thank you for the video," one person wrote.

"That seems like a dangerous game," wrote another, as a third questioned: "Are you alive?"

XiaoHao2 has since confirmed that he's okay, telling those concerned: "I am still alive and free..."

While the streets of North Korea look notably empty in the Redditor's photos, recent snaps of the country showed more signs of life.

Photographer Pedro Pardo managed to take some images that portray life on the other side of the Chinese and North Korean border in recent weeks.

Padro was able to get access to a remote part of North Korea's border with China in the latter's Jilin province to take the snaps, which date between February 26 and March 1 of this year.

The snaps were taken shortly before Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a damning report about North Korea. It was titled 'A Sense of Terror, Stronger than a Bullet: The Closing of North Korea 2018–2023'.

PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Part of the summary of the report, which was published on March 7, read: "North Korea is one of the most repressive countries in the world. Ruled by third-generation hereditary totalitarian leader Kim Jong Un, the North Korean government for decades has controlled its population with violence and fear, using arbitrary detention, torture, executions after unfair trials, enforced disappearance, and other serious violations of human rights, to obtain unquestioned obedience."

Since King Jong-un took power of the country in 2011, North Korea's annual trade values in terms of exports have drastically decreased from almost $4 billion a year, as per HRW's report, to just $248 million a year in 2022.

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