The guide was booked - the assumption was they were arriving on the normal train from Beijing. They didn't, and that meant they had unescorted time alone in Nor

The guide was booked - the assumption was they were arriving on the normal train from Beijing. They didn't, and that meant they had unescorted time alone in North Korean villages on the way from the border. I'm not even sure that the secret police managed to monitor them. They benefited from bureaucrats not knowing what to do and waiting for instructions from up high.