Korean Mass Games

These are the amazing close up pictures of North Korea's mass games - after photographers were previously banned from taking shots so close to the dazzling formation dances.They feature over 100,000 people in the performing art displays that include tens of thousands of gymnasts synchronizing movements in line with a background of card-turners who entertain spectators. About 20,000 of them form the background to the show holding large books whose pages flip simultaneously to produce the huge displays.The rapid change of images sees one card exchanged for another in a swift and synchronized movement that takes hours of rehearsals and detailed choreography.Photographer Werner Kranwetvogel, 40, captured the stunning shots after he gained rare access to the communist country's public displays.

Other great stories
TERRIFIED TEACHER TALKED MURDERER OUT OF STRANGLING HER

A teacher has told how she was attacked by a murderer on her way home from a night out but courageously managed to charm him out of strangling her .

TEEN WITH 100s OF BIRTHMARKS BEATS BULLIES TO EMBRACE BEAUTY

A teenage girl nicknamed 'spotty dog' by school bullies has embraced the hundreds of birthmarks that cover her entire face and body .

SNOWY SQUIRRELS PLAY A GAME OF BALL

Throwing their arms up in the air, these energetic squirrels play a game of ball with a walnut .

SMILING SHARKS

A lively lemon shark grins into the camera and showcases his impressive teeth .

STUNNING CONTRAST OF ENGLISH SETTINGS

CONTRASTING settings reveal some of England’s most beautiful landscapes in all their glory .

EYE PAINTER

MEET the painter who makes his living squirting paint from his EYES .

MILEY MASH-UP

HOTSPOT MEDIA - MILEY MASH-UP: MILEY CYRUS’ naked wrecking ball vid has been lampooned in this side-spitting photo-mashup .

OBESE WOMAN DEVELOPED ANOREXIA AFTER LOSING 19ST

A former obese woman has told how she lost 19st, but was so terrified of gaining weight that she ended up developing an eating disorder .

FROM KEBAB TO KE-BABE: WOMAN DROPS 13ST AFTER FOOD ATTACK

A woman has lost an incredible 13st after a group of men cruelly threw a kebab at her as she walked down the street .

THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE BABY COT

A LUXURY baby cot has hit the shelves with a price tag just shy of 10 MILLION POUNDS .

CHEEKY FROG HITCHES A RIDE ON A SNAIL

A lazy tree frog, tired of hopping along a branch, chooses the slowest form of transport when it jumps on top of an unsuspecting snail .