Dawn.com presents a rare picture of the black nights in Pyongyang, North Korea.

The clock strikes 10, and a siren ruptures the silent Pyongyang night.

The music that follows sounds like a traditional Korean string instrument played to a repetitive tune with high notes and a slow tempo. The haunting melody reverberates through the buildings.

“It’s the signal for people to go home,” said Hwang Sung Chol, a resident. And this music, which is played nightly from the railway station, would be played twice more, at 11pm and midnight.

There was a constant stream of people on the streets, all walking some place, somewhere. Trams and buses were always packed to the roof but why are these people always going somewhere and where are they going?

And why are there still so many locals out at night despite their Dear Leader’s call for them to return home?

These people seem accustomed to walking in the shadow; shadows that could have been banished with more street lights but instead, these additional lights are used to light up the portraits and murals of the two Kims all around the city.

They walk silently and stoically in the shadow of their leaders’ glory, always moving, perhaps in hope of change.  – Photos and text by Wong Kang Wei for Dawn.com