Over 20 missile launches, one atomic test and a hefty verbal spat between North Korea and the United States – these events characterize the belligerent state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula in 2017.
But it didn't take long for these hopes to be quashed. Even before Trump moved into the Oval Office, he had given the world a taste of what was about to come during the course of the year. On January 3, Trump tweeted: "North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon capable of reaching parts of the US. It won't happen!"
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A successful year for N. Korea
Pyongyang, though, was not impressed by such warnings. In February, North Korea set off a rocket, marking the start of a series of launches.
Overall, the North fired over 20 missiles, including three intercontinental ones, and conducted its sixth nuclear test in 2017. Never before had the country conducted so many tests within a year.
Pyongyang's state media outlets announced at the end of November that it had successfully completed its nuclear program.
"The North Korean leadership will be happy with its performance this year, as it has reached a strategic goal, which it had been striving to achieve for decades," said Eric Ballbach of the Institute of Korean Studies at the Free University of Berlin.
War of words
The year saw a fierce verbal onslaught between the US and North Korean leadership. Pyongyang has been widely known for its belligerent rhetoric, especially targeting South Korea and the US. But what is new is the US president reciprocating in kind. For instance, when the North said on July 4 - the US Independence Day - that it had successfully carried out an ICBM test, Trump responded on Twitter: "North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life? Hard to believe that South Korea....."
Kim then taunted Trump, noting that the test was a "gift" to "American bastards" on their Independence Day.
After North Korea tested a second ICBM at the end of July, Trump indirectly threatened to use military force, saying that if the country continued its provocations, they would be met with "fire and fury like the world has never seen." The North reacted by saying that it wouldn't be possible to engage in a dialogue with Trump. Furthermore, it threatened to launch missiles toward the US territory of Guam, where thousands of US soldiers are stationed.
Inside North Korea: an Instagrammer's perspective
Despite dominating global headlines this year, North Korea remains one of the world's most secluded places. British Instagrammer Pierre Depont regularly visits the isolated nation - and tries to capture everyday life.
Image: DW/P.Depont
Glimpses of normality
Despite its image of being secretive, North Korea invites foreigners to discover its attractions. But traveling as tourists comes with strings attached, as special guides shadow their every step. The restrictions haven't deterred Pierre Depont, who has visited the country seven times, capturing glimpses of the locals' daily life.
Image: DW/P. Depont
Creeping capitalism
Depont first traveled to North Korea in 2013 - and has since studied the changing face of the authoritarian country. During the last two to three years, he has observed "that in Pyongyang it has become acceptable to show off your wealth." With a growing middle class and a construction boom, the capital seems to be defying international economic sanctions.
Image: Pierre Depont
Pyongyang street style
Connecting with everyday people isn't easy, says Depont. "I had a couple of random conversations with strangers - always overheard by one of the guides." In Depont's experience, most locals don't like to be photographed. "North Korean women are definitely getting more fashionable. But you can only see it in the cities."
Image: DW/P. Depont
Urban vs. rural
Commuting in style: this underground station in Pyongyang dazzles travelers with what looks like marble walls and chandeliers. To Depont, North Korea is "an amazing space for photography. You find no advertising at all, no distraction. It feels like a whole new game." But while the capital - home to the elite - seems to be thriving, other parts of North Korea remain mired in abject poverty.
Image: Pierre Depont
Hidden hardship
To this day, North Korea remains a highly militarized, predominantly agricultural society. Tourists, however, don't get to see much of the living conditions of the rural population. "Every little piece of land is cultivated, every square meter is used."
Image: Pierre Depont
Staged abundance?
Tourists interested in life outside North Korean cities are taken on guided tours to showcase cooperative farms. When Depont visited one such farm near Hamhung, the country's second-largest city, it featured a little market with a variety of neatly stocked goods. Depont recalls feeling like the shop "was just for show."
Image: DW/P.Depont
Elite schools - a tourist attraction
A stop at a model school is an important item on many tours' agenda. The renovated international summer camp Songdowon was re-opened in 2014 and has been visited by the country's current leader Kim Jong Un. "There is something unreal about it," says Depont. "The kids play in the amusement room, using very advanced arcade games and around 20 modern computers."
Image: DW/P.Depont
Omnipresent militarism
The military is central to the country's identity and the fabric of its society. Around a quarter of the population is employed as military personnel, while Pyongyang has one of the largest military budgets in the world relative to its economic output. From a very young age, North Koreans grow up with military imagery. Depont came across this miniature tank on a children's playground near Hamhung.
Image: Pierre Depont
Ritualized worship
Alongside militarism, the high level of political control and the personality cult surrounding Kim Jong Un and his predecessors are ubiquitous. The everyday worship of the supreme leader has left a lasting impression on Depont. "You see the amount of money and effort that goes into holding up the story of the great leaders and their great statues."
Image: DW/P.Depont
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A hot autumn
The war of words escalated further in September. In his first address to the United Nations, Trump chose dramatic words, saying that the "little rocket man" was on a suicide mission. Then the US leader issued a threat to "totally destroy" North Korea, should the country not give in. Kim replied two days later: "I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire."
North Korea views this truculent rhetoric as both an affront and a blessing at the same time, said Eric Ballbach. "On the one hand, personal attacks on leadership in any authoritarian country are an absolute no-go.
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But on the other hand, this rhetoric provides the North Koreans with exactly what they want," the expert noted, explaining that even a country as authoritarian as North Korea has to convince its own people of the legitimacy and necessity of its expensive and resource-intensive nuclear program. "This requires a genuine threat from the outside," he said.
Moreover, the fact that there are no official talks between the two sides carries very specific risks, as it increases the likelihood of miscalculations, Ballbach pointed out.
"We had in 2017 the largest ever joint US-South Korean military exercises as well as the highest number of North Korean missile tests. Given that there are barely any open channels of communication left, the situation could easily lead to misinterpretations, which may even result in a military confrontation."
The Korean dilemma
Nevertheless, observers believe the current state of affairs presents an opportunity to initiate a new round of talks. "Ironically, the current situation offers a good chance for both sides to engage in talks. Also, the fact that North Koreans emphasizing they have successfully concluded their nuclear program could allow them to refrain from holding further testing in the near future," said Ballbach.
South Korea, meanwhile, hopes that the situation in the region will remain calm in the coming months. The country is hosting the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in February and wants to avoid any disturbances that could disrupt the smooth conduct of the major international sporting event. Any North Korean missile or nuclear tests during this time would be the ultimate provocation.
The truth and myths of the Kim dynasty
The Kim family has ruled North Korea for the last seven decades, with state-run propaganda praising Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il, and Kim Jong Un as godlike figures. DW looks at the rulers behind the myths.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
A young leader
Kim Il Sung, the first and "eternal" president of North Korea, took power in 1948 with the support of the Soviet Union. The official calendar in North Korea begins with his birth year, 1912, designating it "Juche 1" after the state's Juche ideology. He was 41 when, as shown here, he signed the 1953 armistice that effectively ended the Korean War.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Hero worship
In the years and decades after the war, Pyongyang's propaganda machine worked hard to weave a mythical narrative around Kim Il Sung. His childhood and the time he spent fighting Japanese troops in the 1930s were embellished to portray him as an unrivaled military and political genius.
At the 1980 party congress, Kim announced he would be succeeded by his son, Kim Jong Il.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Ruling to the end
In 1992, Kim Il Sung started writing and publishing his memoirs, entitled "Reminiscences: With the Century." Describing his childhood, the North Korean leader claims that he first joined an anti-Japanese rally at 6 years old and became involved with the independence struggle at 8.
The memoirs remained unfinished at Kim Il Sung's death in 1994.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/JIJI Press
In his father's footsteps
After spending years in the top tiers of the regime, Kim Jong Il took power after his father's death. Kim Jong Il's 16-year rule was marked by famine and economic crisis in an already impoverished country. However, the cult of personality surrounding him and his father, Kim Il Sung, grew even stronger.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/KCNA via Korean News Service
Rising star
Historians outside North Korea believe Kim Jong Il was born in a military camp in eastern Russia, most likely in 1941. However, the leader's official biography claims it happened on the sacred Korean mountain Paektu, exactly 30 years after his father, on April 15, 1942. A North Korean legend says the birth was blessed by a new star and a double rainbow.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
Family trouble
Kim Jong Il had three sons and two daughters with three different women. This 1981 photo shows Kim Jong Il sitting besides his son Kim Jong Nam, with his sister-in-law and her two children in the background. Kim Jong Nam was eventually assassinated in 2017.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Grooming a successor
In 2009, Western media reported that Kim Jong Il had picked his youngest son, Kim Jong Un, to take over as the head of the regime. The two appeared together at a military parade on 2010, a year before Kim Jong Il passed away.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Yu
Together
According to Pyongyang, the death of Kim Jong Il in 2011 was marked by a series of mysterious events. State media reported that ice snapped loudly at a lake on the Paektu mountain during a sudden snowstorm, with a glowing message appearing on the rocks.
After Kim Jong Il's death, a 22-meter (72-foot) statue of him was erected next to the one of his father (l.) in Pyongyang.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Mysterious past
Kim Jong Un mostly stayed out of the spotlight before his ascent to power. His exact age is disputed, but he is believed to have been born between 1982 and 1984. He was reportedly educated in Switzerland. In 2013, he surprised the world by meeting with former NBA star Dennis Rodman in Pyongyang.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
A new cult
Like the leaders before him, Kim Jong Un is hallowed by the state's totalitarian regime. In 2015, South Korean media reported about a new teacher's manual in the North that claimed Kim Jong Un could drive at the age of 3. In 2017, state media said that a monument to the young leader would be build on Mount Paektu.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Kctv
A Kim with a hydrogen bomb
Altough Kim took power at a younger age and with less of a public profile than his father and grandfather, he has managed to maintain his grip on power. The assassination of his half-brother Kim Jong Nam in 2017 served to cement his reputation abroad as a merciless dictator. The North Korean leader has also vastly expanded the country's nuclear arsenal.
