Next Stop Prosperity: Riding On Pyongyang's Metro

Sky News has been given a rare glimpse of Pyongyang's underground system.

Our rare, officially-sanctioned glimpse into life in North Korea comes as the secretive state prepares lavish celebrations and a military parade this weekend to mark the 70th anniversary of the ruling party.

On day two of our tour, guides travelled with us from Puhung station (which means 'Prosperity') one stop to Yonggwang station (meaning 'Glory').

The Metro was built in the 1970s and is similar to Moscow's fabled subway system in its look and feel.

There are two lines and around 15 stops in the city.

Murals and mosaics of its founding father, Kim Il-Sung, and North Korean workers are a common sight at all stations.

Nationalistic songs and radio news bulletins about leader Kim Jong-Un's latest engagements are broadcast on a Tannoy in the stations and on the trains themselves.

Women, dressed in uniforms, act as guards to make sure people get on and off the train safely.

At the end of each platform, a digital clock displays the time since the last train left the station. The clock rarely exceeds three minutes, such is the regularity of each train.

On Thursday, Sky News was taken on a state-organised tour of Pyongyang Middle School Number One and an old people's home just outside the capital.

:: Alistair Bunkall is reporting under the supervision of the North Korean government.