AP PHOTOS: Coffee shops all the rage in North Korean capital

The small, dimly lit cafes have been around in the North Korean capital for years, but the drink's popularity has surged in Pyongyang recently — enough so, in fact, that it's sparking a competition among shop owners to provide more of an upscale ambiance and a variety of coffees that would almost put the ubiquitous American chain to shame.

While capitalism is still officially frowned upon and the economy remains centrally controlled and largely stagnant, grassroots entrepreneurialism is not only growing but has become a necessity for many North Koreans.

[...] the famine years of the 1990s, the government provided most citizens with their basic necessities and jobs.

[...] the growing grassroots economy has created something of a middle class in Pyongyang and some other cities, where more people have enough expendable cash to treat themselves to small luxuries like coffee, and businesses like street stalls selling drinks or snacks and more new restaurants aimed at meeting the new market demand are mushrooming.