Dutchman runs marathon Pyongyang

amsterdam - Entrepreneur and advertiser Erik Hensel was last week in North Korea to run the marathon in Pyongyang. He was happy when he was again yesterday over the border. 'After North Korea even China felt like a relief.'

Due to the constant current state propaganda around he caught occasionally a glimpse of the rising tensions in the country. 'We rode a bus in the direction of the border with South Korea, and saw tanks and military troop movements. No one owns a car there- everyone travels by horse or scooter- so it's a strange sight when you suddenly see all the vehicles driving. We asked our guide: is this normal? No, he said. You felt something was wrong. '

He saw more remarkable things. 'All North Koreans we spoke, saw America as enemy number one. There anti-American leaflets were distributed and we saw marching children. In the souvenir shop you could buy a poster of an American whose head was chopped in half. '

Before the border was allowed, all photos were scrolled on his phone. was also turned inside the box. 'You do not have internet access there, so when we crossed the border, I got all push messages within the tensions in the region. Inside North Korea, you only get to read the Pyongyang Times, with reports of how many schools have been opened. It can also read a lot about the missiles. '

The atmosphere during the marathon through the capital, despite all fine, with thousands of cheering North Koreans along the side. 'This is an outing for them. ''