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
THE DANGEROUS WORK OF SULPHUR MINERS
These are the men with one of the most unpleasant jobs in the world .
BETRAYED BY CANCER CON WOMAN!
Recovering from a rare form of breast cancer, Deborah Barnett, 43, of Stoke-on-Trent, thought she'd made it through the worst, but she was betrayed by former colleague Sandra Ramsay, of Mow Cop Road, Mow Cop, Stoke-on-Trent .
CAT RIPS OFF OWN EARS DUE TO UNTREATED CANCER
Animal rescue volunteers have told how a cat riddled with cancer was forced to ripped off its own ears after it was abandoned by its owners .
HUBBY DRUGGED THEN RAPED ME FROM AGED 15 AND I GOT JUSTICE 30 YEARS LATER
Tina O’Brien, 54, from East Midlands, met Frederick Allchorne, now 62, when she was 15 .
‘PEG-LEG’ AMPUTEE OVERCOMES BULLIES TO MODEL LINGERIE
An amputee who was cruelly nicknamed 'peg-leg' by school bullies has conquered her insecurities to become a model .
WELL–HEELED: WORLD’S MOST EXPENSIVE SHOES WORTH £276,000
Here’s a pair of shoes that really are fit for a princess, and with a price tag of more than £276,000, they are the most expensive shoes in the world .
ANGER AS BLOCKBUSTER ADVERTISES EMPLOYEES JOBS TO MAKE THEM “WORK HARDER”
Struggling home entertainment chain Blockbuster has been slammed for advertising its workers' jobs while they are still in them in order to scare them into working harder .
OPEN WIDE! MONKEY GIVES FRIEND AN UNEXPECTED DENTAL CHECK-UP
This cheeky macaque gets up close and personal as he examines the dental hygiene of his fellow primate .
EXERCISING OTTERS
A group of otters put on a show of aqua aerobics, as they raise their flippers perfectly in sync .
ADORABLE SQUIRREL TRIES HER HAND AT PHOTOGRAPHY
A curious red squirrel takes a break from collecting nuts and tries her hand at photography .
PELICANS CLASH OVER FOOD
LIFTING their heads high and bumping beaks, these aggressive pelicans clash over fish .
BATTY ABOUT BATMAN - MAN SPENDS £65K ON COLLECTION
Kevin Silva, 52 from Indiana in the USA, has spent an estimated £65K ($100K) on Batman trinkets over the years, and even keeps his 2,500-item haul in his very own basement 'Bat Cave' .