GIMPO - People curious about North Korea can now get a peek at life inside the famously reclusive country while lingering over a cup of coffee.

A 40-seater Starbucks cafe opened last week at South Korea’s Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo city, which is along the divide between the two Koreas and just a river apart from the North.

The cafe’s location allows visitors an unfettered view of a small village in North Korea’s Gaepung county just 1.4km away, so near the number of buildings in the village can be counted.