North Korea set to open 'world class' tourist resort

Kim was an enthusiastic visitor this week to the sprawling site on the isolated country’s east coast, which is set to open its doors on July I to domestic tourists and maybe one day foreign ones.

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Korea has completed construction on a massive tourist resort boasting colourful water slides and swimming pools, state media said on Thursday, a pet project of leader Kim Jong Un.

Kim was an enthusiastic visitor this week to the sprawling site on the isolated country’s east coast, which is set to open its doors on July Ito domestictouristsandmaybeone day foreignones.

Analysts have said Kim showed a keen interest in developing North Korea’s tourism industry in his early years in power, with the development of the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area known to be a key focal point.

The nuclear-armed North reopened its borders in August 2023 after almost four years, having closed them because of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which time even its own nationals were prevented from entering.

Foreign tourism was limited though even before the pandemic, with tour companies saying around 5,000 Western tourists visited each year.

Kim on Tuesday attended a lavish inaugural ceremony for the tourist zone, which hosts accommodation for nearly 20,000 people and what Pyongyang claims is “a world-class cultural resort,” the Korean Central News Agency said.