One can tell if the safety is off, but not if a round is chambered. That said, it's always a good idea to assume that the gun is ready to fire.
The safety lever is on the (shooter's) right hand side of the weapon - up is "safe", down is "fire". The magazine clips into the bottom of the weapon and does not move until the shooter presses the latch to remove it.
Is the AK safety on the "outside" of a right-handed shooter's rifle? I figured it would be like the M-16, where it is thumb-actuated for a right-hander (i.e.: on the left side of the lower receiver, both for accessibility and shooter visibility reasons).