A photojournalist has been named Instagram photographer of the year thanks to his unprecedented access to and intimate portraits of North Korea.
David Guttenfelder, who is the Associated Press's chief Asia photographer, received the accolade from TIME magazine last week.
The seven-time World Press Photo award-winner, whose work is not limited to the secretive communist state, describes himself on Instagram as “North Korea curious”.
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“Nobody knows anything about [North Korea] and what it looks like,” says Guttenfelder, speaking to TIME over Skype from a hotel in Pyongyang.
“I feel like there’s a big opportunity and a big responsibility.”
Though Guttenfelder’s work is monitored by ever-present minders, he has managed to produce some of the most intimate images of the rogue state ever seen.
Check out some of his work as syndicated for the AP here:
North Korea by David Guttenfelder
(01 of23)
North Korean waitresses pick up dishes behind a red velvet curtained kitchen at a restaurant in the newly-opened Kumrung Sports Exercise Center in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. Building new recreational and health facilities has been a cornerstone of leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to fulfill a promise made to raise living standards in North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
Dennis Rodman(02 of23)
Former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman smokes a cigar as he watches North Korean basketball players during a practice session in Pyongyang, North Korea on Friday, Dec. 20, 2013. Rodman selected the members of the North Korean team who will play in Pyongyang against visiting NBA stars on Jan. 8, 2014, the birthday of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(03 of23)
Bouquets of flowers stand beneath portraits of the late leaders Kim Il Sung, left, and Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2013. Across the capital city, North Koreans observed the second anniversary of the death of Kim Jong Il. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(04 of23)
A board, painted so North Korean families can peek their faces through and have their photo taken to look like they are wearing space suits, stands in a snow drift in Pyongyang, North Korea Monday, Dec. 16, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(05 of23)
A North Korean woman stands at the window of a snack bar inside the newly-opened Kumrung Sports Exercise Center in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. Building new recreational and health facilities has been a cornerstone of leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to fulfill a promise made to raise living standards in North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(06 of23)
Men walk past a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they return to the locker room after swimming at the newly-opened Kumrung Sports Exercise Center in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. Building new recreational and health facilities has been a cornerstone of leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to fulfill a promise made to raise living standards in North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(07 of23)
North Korean women wave to their leader Kim Jong Un during a mass military parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice Saturday, July 27, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(08 of23)
CORRECTS SPELLING TO KIM JONG UN - In this Friday Dec. 13, 2013 photo, North Korean nurses care for infants in incubators in the newly-opened Okryu Children's Hospital in Pyongyang, North Korea. Building new recreational and health facilities has been a cornerstone of leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to fulfill a promise made to raise living standards in North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(09 of23)
In this Saturday Dec. 14, 2013 photo, a North Korean riding instructor waits with his horse at the newly-opened Mi Rim Riding Club near Pyongyang, North Korea. Building new recreational and health facilities has been a cornerstone of leader Kim Job Un's efforts to fulfill a promise made to raise living standards in North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(10 of23)
North Korean aerobics instructors practice a routine at a dance studio inside the newly-opened Kumrung Sports Exercise Center in Pyongyang, North Korea on Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013. Building new recreational and health facilities has been a cornerstone of leader Kim Job Un's efforts to fulfill a promise made to raise living standards in North Korea. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(11 of23)
North Korean girls stand at attention at the end of a performance of the "Arirang" mass games at May Day Stadium in Pyongyang Friday, July 26, 2013 on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(12 of23)
A North Korean man walks on a snowy sidewalk in central Pyongyang on Friday, Dec. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(13 of23)
Passengers walk on the snowy tarmac at Pyongyang's international airport as they disembark from the Air Koryo flight arriving from Beijing to Pyongyang, North Korea on Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(14 of23)
In this Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013 photo, a North Korean soldier steps over the recently opened train tracks linking the city of Rajin, North Korea in the Rason Special Economic Zone to the border at Tumangang and Khasan in Russia. Last month, North Korea announced plans to create economic zones in every province. The North also recently laid out new laws to facilitate foreign tourism and investment. The laws provide investors with special incentives and guarantees, while giving local leaders greater autonomy to promote themselves and handle business decisions. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(15 of23)
In this Saturday, Nov. 9, 2013 photo, North Korean seamstresses work at sewing machines at the Sonbong Textile Factory in Sonbong, North Korea, inside the Rason Special Economic Zone. Last month, North Korea announced plans to create economic zones in every province. The North also recently laid out new laws to facilitate foreign tourism and investment. The laws provide investors with special incentives and guarantees, while giving local leaders greater autonomy to promote themselves and handle business decisions. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(16 of23)
In this Friday Sept. 20, 2013 photo, an unfinished hotel complex stands at the bottom of a mountain slope at the ski resort construction project at North Korea's Masik Pass. This is the Masik Pass ski resort, North Koreas latest megaproject, the product of 10 months of furious labor intended to show the world that this country, so often derided for its poverty and isolation, is as civilized and culturally advanced as any other. North Korean authorities have been encouraging a broader interest in sports in the country, calling it "the hot wind of sports blowing through Korea." (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
Kim Yong Nam(17 of23)
Kim Yong Nam, head of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea, stands inside a meeting room at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, North Korea on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013. Kim said Friday that his country wants to focus on improving its struggling economy and raising its standard of living, but can only do so if the United States abandons what he called a hostile policy toward Pyongyang. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(18 of23)
A North Korean man drinks beer at a poolside bar that North Korean officials say was built as a recreational facility for the families of workers at a food processing factory in Pyongyang, Saturday Sept. 21, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(19 of23)
North Korean woman pay their respects at a grave for North Korean military veterans as they observe Chuseok, the traditional Korean Thanksgiving holiday, in Pyongyang, North Korea, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(20 of23)
A North Korean groundskeeper walks past a swing made to look like the North Korean Unha-3 rocket, at a park in Pyongyang, North Korea on Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(21 of23)
North Koreans stand to attention and sing inside Kim Il Sung stadium in Pyongyang during mass dance party event held to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice agreement in Pyongyang, on Sunday, July 28, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(22 of23)
North Korean women wave to their leader Kim Jong Un during a mass military parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice, Saturday, July 27, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)
(23 of23)
A North Korean missile rolls by as colored smoke trails, left by flying aircraft, streak the sky during a mass military parade on Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War armistice Saturday, July 27, 2013. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder) (credit:AP)