While North Korea’s pampered elite enjoy all the trappings of luxury in its capital Pyongyang, most of the country’s population endures grinding poverty and chronic hunger. In June, leader Kim Jong-un revealed at the ruling Workers' Party committee that the nation's people are dealing with "tense" food shortages. Kim blamed last year's typhoons, which led to flooding and meant grain targets couldn't be met.

However, the nation's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is also to blame. North Korea has firmly closed its borders to try to shut out the virus, although reports claim it hasn't succeeded, and has refused the offer of vaccines from Russia on several occasions, but this approach has also meant shutting off trade from its neighbor China, which it relies on for food, fuel and fertilizer. And so food shortages have got a lot worse in what was an already difficult situation as the country is under numerous sanctions due to its nuclear program. Kim has warned his people to prepare for the "worst ever outcome", which many believe is a reference to the 1990s famine, although he and his elite are unlikely to be hugely affected.

As the situation worsens for ordinary people, click or scroll through to discover the shocking gap between rich and poor in the notorious rogue state.

North Korea's songbun system classifies each and every citizen. There are reportedly five designated castes in total. The privileged elite – 10% of North Koreans – enjoy 'special' or 'nucleus' status, and only members of these high castes are allowed to live in the capital Pyongyang.

Most North Koreans fall into one of three disadvantaged social statuses or lower castes, which range from 'basic' and 'complex' to the ominous 'hostile'. These people are banned from living in the capital and receive no special privileges such as additional rations or phone permits. Insiders say the songbun system is based on two factors: your current position in society and your family's history, both in terms of its social position and its loyalty to the country's leadership.

The upper echelons of the Pyongyang elite can take home thousands of dollars a month, while the average resident of the capital earns $30-$40. Housing, food and other essentials are subsidised to the point of being free for the elite, who enjoy super-generous rations, so this payment is more like an extra allowance than a basic salary.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of the population earn next to nothing and have no special ration privileges. Many people bribe officials so they can moonlight in their spare time, say on a food stall or in a clandestine factory, to earn an extra $10-$40 a month on average, which is still barely enough to survive. However, some North Koreans are forced to work for no pay at all...

Not only that, but North Korean people are often forced into unpaid labor. Currently, the nation is building a wall at its border with China in its Ryanggang province in order to prevent smuggling of goods, as well as the spread of COVID-19. North Korea wants the wall to be finished by 10 October, the anniversary of its Party Founding Day, and in order to meet the tight deadline has expanded its workforce beyond military and youth personnel to include married women aged from 20 to 60, according to Radio Free Asia. The women are expected to make 10 cement blocks per day. While forced labor is common in North Korea, it has been reported that on this occasion there has been some backlash as frail, older women have been conscripted into the physical work.

With their ration books bulging, North Korea's spoilt 10% have constant access to fine food, much of it free of charge. The elite can also dine at Pyongyang's top restaurants. Lavish Korean barbecue banquets are popular and the capital even boasts a fried chicken joint, as well as European-style cafés.

Kim spares no expense when it comes to his own diet. He’s been known to order in top-quality pork from Denmark, caviar delivered from Iran, Chinese melon and steaks of Kobe beef, a Japanese delicacy. He even managed to spend a whopping $921,712 on Brazilian coffee alone in 2016. Kim also reportedly spends thousands of dollars each year on importing liquors into the country for his elite circles. In 2016 the leader spent $33,000 on American spirits, preferring the more expensive kinds such as Hennessy, which can cost up to $2,145 for the best bottle. He has reportedly also spent $95,394 on German wine.

Meanwhile, the rest of the population get by on extremely meagre rations, which were slashed to just 300g per person a day in May 2019 following the worst harvest in more than a decade. Things have got decidedly worse now that Kim Jong-un is admitting that the nation is facing food shortages. In a rare admission, the leader revealed that the nation would have to "wage another, more difficult 'Arduous March' in order to relieve our people of the difficulty, even a little". 'Arduous March' refers to a period of extreme famine experienced in North Korea during the 1990s. But even in times of good harvest North Korean citizens are said to only live off 500g of food per day.

Their supreme leader may be on the larger size but the North Korean elite are surprisingly body-conscious. Working out is a popular pastime in Pyongyang, presumably to burn off all those calorific banquets, and the capital actually has more than its fair share of gyms and health clubs.

Obesity certainly isn't a problem away from the capital. Millions of North Koreans died during the aforementioned major famine that hit the country in the 1990s and chronic hunger is a fact of life: estimates suggest 78% of the population are undernourished, and 40% of children and most pregnant woman are malnourished.

Pyongyang's Mansudae neighborhood is nicknamed 'Pyonghattan' and boasts the capital's most luxurious accommodation. Apartments feature all mod cons, and are sold illegally among the elite for anything up to $250,000.

There’s not one definitive answer to the question “Where does Kim Jong-un live?” That’s because he has a staggering 17 palaces scattered throughout the state to choose from – and even his own private island.

Most North Koreans make do with poorly maintained houses or tenement apartment blocks with very little in the way of creature comforts or basic utilities such as central heating or running water. Many people have to collect firewood in order to cook or heat their homes, and fetch water from public taps.

Running water is a prerequisite in Pyongyang's upmarket apartments – after all, the residents need a constant supply for their washing machines, dishwashers and hot tubs – and many apartments feature second en suite bathrooms.

With running water a rarity in most homes outside the capital, the vast majority of North Koreans have to use public bathrooms. Even an outside toilet is considered a relative luxury away from Pyongyang.

There's no shortage of high-end goods waiting to be snapped up in Pyongyang and the city's ever-increasing number of luxury black market stores, which are largely tolerated by the dictatorship, sell everything from imported electricals to gourmet foods.

Consumerism is almost non-existent away from the capital. With very little disposable income, most North Koreans spend any extra cash they earn on food for their families. Even if they did have the money to spend, there are very few black market stores outside Pyongyang in which to splash the cash.

Although a fairly strict dress code is enforced, many Pyongyang residents follow the latest fashions, with Western brands such as Nike and Gap popular among young people, and high-end labels like Christian Dior and Chanel de rigueur for the upper echelons of the elite.

Away from Pyongyang, fashion is low down on the list of priorities for most people, who are more likely to be concerned with getting enough food to eat or stockpiling enough firewood to avoid freezing to death in the country's harsh winters.

Senior government officials and military officers are permitted to own cars, and it's not unusual to spot luxury vehicles on the capital's roads. Elite citizens lower down the hierarchy are fond of battery-powered bikes imported from China.

Cars and battery-powered bikes are few and far between away from the capital. Most North Koreans have little or zero access to motorized means of transport, and are limited to using bicycles and ox or horse-drawn carts to get around or transport goods.

Although traffic levels are on the low side, the roads in North Korea's showpiece capital are meticulously maintained, with armies of workers on hand to deal with any potholes or cracks in the asphalt.

It's a very different story outside Pyongyang. Away from the capital, North Korea's road network is mostly made up of dusty dirt tracks. According to the CIA World Factbook, out of a total of 15,878 miles (25,554km) of roads, only 450 miles (724km) are properly asphalted.

Power outages do tend to occur in the capital from time to time, but members of the upper echelons of the elite have access to generators, so their homes and offices have an uninterrupted supply of power.

Away from the capital, the few who are lucky enough to have electricity installed in their homes receive a very limited, intermittent supply. Blackouts are extremely common and many people in rural areas rely on candlelight after dark.

There are millions of phones in North Korea but far fewer users. Phone use is restricted to members of the elite and VIPs tend to own more than one handset – it's often cheaper to buy a brand new prepaid phone in Pyongyang than top up credit on an existing phone.

The vast majority of the North Korean population are barred from owning phones. Some people may have limited access to public landlines but all calls are strictly vetted by the authorities.

A tiny minority of VIPs have full access to the world wide web, but the rest of North Korea is unable to reach the outside world online...

North Koreans have access to 'kwangmyong', a domestic intranet that also allows email. No one is allowed to access the internet as we know it, meaning that their access to information and the outside world is very limited.

Pedigree lap dogs are much sought-after status symbols in the North Korean capital, and imported pooches from China, especially extra-small Chihuahuas and Malteses, go for upwards of $100 on the black market.

The consumption of dog meat has a long history in North Korea and, outside the capital, people are forced to survive on very little. Needless to say, away from Pyongyang a stray dog is more likely to end up on the dinner table than be preened and pampered as a pet.

Now discover how North Korea makes its money