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dedicated to the Great Leader) throughout the city. It reminded me a little
of Washington, but only in its similarity as a national capital with many
government buildings. There was a very low population density, for the gov-
ernment forbade most ordinary citizens from living in the city. It was clean
and did not appear to suffer from air pollution. It was also the most lifeless
and sterile place I think I have ever visited.
Our hotel was the Koryo Hotel, located near the Pyongyang Railroad
Station in the Central District of the city. The hotel was an impressive struc-
ture from the outside, with twin towers rising about thirty stories on each
side. Although the hotel had a sizeable capacity, it was certainly not busy.
Each morning at breakfast I counted the guests, and after several days de-
termined that there were probably no more than forty people staying in the
entire hotel. There were no other guests on my floor, and the same was true
for several of the rest of us. Only on my last night in Pyongyang did other
guests arrive on my floor—a middle-aged Korean American couple who had
been visiting relatives near Haeju.
My room was actually a small suite and was quite comfortable, although
the design was far from modern. There were three rooms: one for sleeping;
one for work, which included a large and handsome wooden desk; and a
living room area with a small table and television. Next to the bed were two
telephones, one of these was connected to the hotel operator, and the other
appeared to be a listening device. As a former intelligence officer, I was
amused at this old-fashioned method of monitoring the room. It reminded
me of some old World War II spy movie.
The room also had a minibar in the refrigerator that was stocked with
snacks and drinks. Each day a three-person team of “minibar inspectors”
comprised of two women and one male supervisor would inspect and com-
pletely inventory the contents. The first woman would physically check each
item and announce its condition as satisfactory, then the second woman
would double check each item and check it off the written inventory. The
man’s job appeared to be to observe the entire operation. It was never clear
why this relatively simple task required three people, but it may have been
indicative of a pilferage problem or simply an overabundance of hotel em-
ployees with nothing to do. At any rate, it was interesting to watch this pro-
cess, which occurred like clockwork each day.
At the time, and I think it is even more so today, Pyongyang was suffer-
ing from a serious power shortage. Few of the electrically powered facilities
in the hotel were operating, including the escalator in the center of the lobby.
Only a minimum of lights were on, and after dark there were only a few