Scores of pro-North Korea “friendship” organizations and government delegations arrived in the North Korean capital in the past few days, with some group visits subsidized by DPRK authorities in order to facilitate participation in Sunday’s 70th anniversary of the country’s founding.

The lobby of Pyongyang’s Yanggakdo Hotel was by Friday evening filled with delegates from friendship organizations arriving from across the world, including Turkey, the Philippines, Canada, and Nigeria.

They are joined by several official government delegations, including from Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Guyana, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and South Africa.

The South African chief delegate, Minister of Transport and SA