From AsiaNews: a priest’s regular journeys to North Korea:

In the nineteenth century, the Korean peninsula was described as a “hermit nation” because of its impenetrability. Alas, the expression still holds for North Korea, especially where the Church is concerned: there are no priests in the country, nor are there any bishops, and missionaries are not allowed in.

With one exception: since 1998, Fr Gerald Hammond, an American priest of the Maryknoll Missionaries has been able to visit villages in a province north of Pyongyang twice a year.