What do North Korea's buildings and landmarks tell us about the totalitarian state?

RESIDENTIAL BLOCK, THONGIL: Some of Thongil Street's residential blocks rise to 40 storeys and each contains hundreds of housing units. Vast apartment blocks in the city centre, Meuser explains, 'are typical of communist cities. Pyongyang is an interesting example of what happens to a city when there is no trade in real estate. Planning decisions are made, not by the market, but by party members who know little of urban design and are guided solely by their ideology'

Pyongyang Architectural and Cultural Guide