Photograph by David Guttenfelder—AP

All across North Korea are propaganda slogans on billboards and monuments — standing along roadsides, hilltops, rice fields, they’re everywhere. The slogans typically call for loyalty to the current leaders. Some address current events, like the latest rocket launch or nuclear test. And some simply encourage hard, collective work.

This is the punctuation at the end of a slogan on the road as you enter the southern city of Kaesong, near the DMZ. The slogan reads: “Long Live Unified Korean People!”

I shot the picture from the window of our van as we left Kaesong for Pyongyang on April 24, 2013.

I think that the photo is interesting because you can only see the exclamation point — it makes you begin to understand how ubiquitous the propaganda is inside North Korea. At the same time, there is a very noticeable absence of advertising there. In New York, we live with several-story-tall underwear ads looming above us. There, it’s the constant reminder of the regime at every corner.

—David Guttenfelder

Guttenfelder was honored with 2013 Infinity Award for Photojournalism by the International Center of Photography on May 1, 2013.

See more of his latest work from North Korea on LightBox.

Photograph by Lee Jae-Won—Reuters

“The conditions were very tough – it was freezing cold and snowing, as you can see,” Lee Jae-Won tells TIME about his recent photo, featured in this week’s Pictures of the Week. Perched on a mountain with a long telephoto lens, he captured the above photograph of South Korean infantry soldiers checking their gear on Tuesday, April 9, 2013.

A source tipped him off that the “Seven Stars Unit” of South Korean Army’s 7th Infantry Division would be conducting preparatory drills in Hwacheon, about 12 miles south of the demilitarized zone (and 75 miles north of the South Korean capital).

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry plans to visit Seoul this weekend. And Monday marks the 101 birthday of the North Korean dynasty’s founder, grandfather of the current dictator, Kim Jung Un, historically commemorated by exuberant celebrations and unsuccessful missile launches. The Pentagon has released a report concluding North Korea may or may not be capable of mounting a nuclear weapon on a ballistics missile, though South Korean officials seem unconvinced.

“I like this picture because it shows a very different scene compared to what I have witnessed over the past 10 days or so,” Jae-Won says. “It is a familiar sight to see military drills with large tanks, trucks and missile launchers. But here, there was a small group of soldiers with a much smaller weapon.”

—Eugene Reznik

See more of this week’s best photos on LightBox.

Feb. 28, 2013. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and former NBA star Dennis Rodman watch an exhibition basketball game in Pyongyang, North Korea. (Photo: Vice/Reuters)

See more of the week’s best images at TIME LightBox.

Sept. 13, 2012. North Korean children lift toy barbells during play time at a school for the performing arts in Pyongyang.

From ceremonies commemorating September 11th and attacks on U.S. Embassies around the world to the Pencil Nebula in space and playtime weightlifting in North Korea, TIME presents the best images of the week.

See more photos here.

Aug. 19, 2012. North Korean soldiers and residents run to greet North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (not pictured) as he arrives to visit a military unit on an island in the southwest of Pyongyang in this picture released by the North’s official KCNA news agency in Pyongyang.

From violent clashes in Lebanon and wildfires in Spain to a disabled beauty pageant in Thailand and a Kids’ “State Dinner” at the White House, TIME presents the best images of the week.

See more photos here.

Jacky Chen—Reuters

June 6, 2012. A music group performs on a path amid fields to greet the farmers at Hwanggumpyong Island, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese border city of Dandong.

From the final journey of the space shuttle Enterprise in New York and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in London to a landmark trial in Egypt and the once-in-a-lifetime Transit of Venus, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week. See more here.

Oct. 8, 2011. A North Korean man rests near a farm field along a highway outside the eastern coastal city of Wonsan, North Korea.

David Guttenfelder has just received two honors from the Overseas Press Club. The Olivier Rebbot Award for best photographic reporting from abroad, in magazines or books, and the Feature Photography Award for best feature photography, published in any medium on an international theme, recognize his recent work from last year’s tsunami aftermath in Japan and his work inside North Korea. See more here.

Rebecca Blackwell—AP Photo

From the State of the Union and the Year of the Dragon to ballot boxes and backstage fashion, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week. See more here. 

Mikhail Metzel—AP Photo

From Costa Concordia’s sinking and dog sled races in France to Chinese New Year celebrations and a panda farewell, TIME’s photo department presents the best images of the week. See more here.

Photo Illustration by TIME. Photograph by AP, via Kyodo News

The authenticity of government-released photographs from North Korea has been questioned for years but not until this week, during the funeral of Kim Jong Il, was the issue as widely discussed and analyzed. See more here.