Discover this unexpected series of North Korean women workers taken by Reuters. Despite difficult work conditions, Reuters photographers have captured beauty and emotions of these active women, regardless of the type of employment.
Workers of the Mangyongbyong cruise ship stand on the deck, near Mount Kumgang resort September 1, 2011. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters)
A North Korean traffic policewoman stands on a road in Pyongyang August 27, 2007. (Photo by Reinhard Krause/Reuters).
A North Korean soldier stands guard along the bank of Yalu River near the North Korean town of Sinuiju, opposite the Chinese border city of Dandong, May 1, 2014. (Photo by Jacky Chen/Reuters)
An employee enters a room at a hotel in Mount Kumgang resort in Kumgang September 1, 2011. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters).
A North Korean employee works in a bank at the Joint Industrial Park in Kaesong industrial zone, a few miles inside North Korea from the heavily fortified border December 19, 2013. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters).
A woman works in the Kim Jong-suk Pyongyang Silk Mill in Pyongyang April 9, 2012. The factory is named after the wife of North Korea founder Kim Il-sung. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters).
North Korean women stand by a simple meal of maize prepared for orphans in the area damaged by recent floods and typhoons in the North Hwanghae province September 29, 2011. (Photo by Damir Sagolj/Reuters).
A North Korean airline attendant is seen on an Air Koryo aircraft flying towards Pyongyang from Beijing, July 24, 2013. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters).
A woman stands in a gift shop in central Rason city, part of the special economic zone northeast of Pyongyang, in this August 30, 2011 file photo. North Korea is a militarized, male-dominated society, but it is women who are making the money as the insular nation allows an unofficial market-based economy to take shape. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters).
Workers operate a production line at a factory making fruit juice near the Daedonggang Fruit Farm, with 125 hectares of apple trees, on the outskirts of Pyongyang April 10, 2012. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters).
North Korean shop assistants walk on a street in Pyongyang July 29, 2013. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters).
Female workers takes a break on a fishing boat at the port of Rajin, in North Korean Special Economic Zone of Rason City, northeast of Pyongyang September 2, 2011. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters).
North Korean employees work in a factory of a South Korean company at the Joint Industrial Park in Kaesong industrial zone, a few miles inside North Korea from the heavily fortified border December 19, 2013. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters).
A North Korean woman (L) adjusts the position of seats for top leaders and guests ahead of an artistic performance to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the signing of a truce in the 1950-1953 Korean War in Pyongyang July 28, 2013. (Photo by Jason Lee/Reuters).
A woman smiles as she works at Daedonggang Fruit Farm, with 125 hectares of apple trees, on the outskirts of Pyongyang April 10, 2012. (Photo by Bobby Yip/Reuters).
Members of a music group check a drum on a path amid fields as they pack up their instruments after giving a performance to greet the farmers at Hwanggumpyong Island, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese border city of Dandong June 6, 2012. (Photo by Jacky Chen/Reuters).
A North Korean worker sews inside a temporary soccer shoe factory at a rural village on the edge of Dandong October 24, 2012. (Photo by Aly Song/Reuters).
A vendor stands inside a shop at the North Korean Special Economic Zone of Rason City in Rajin, northeast of Pyongyang August 29, 2011. (Photo by Carlos Barria/Reuters).
A North Korean station master waits for a train at a metro station in Pyongyang August 27, 2007. (Photo by Reinhard Krause/Reuters)
A North Korean employee works in a factory of a South Korean company at the Joint Industrial Park in Kaesong industrial zone, a few miles inside North Korea from the heavily fortified border in this December 19, 2013 file photo. (Photo by Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters).
