Construction on the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist zone in Wonsan, North Korea, was completed and is set to open next week, state-run KCNA reported Thursday. The tourist zone features accommodations for nearly 20,000 guests as well as sea-bathing facilities and various sports and recreation amenities. Photo by KCNA/EPA-EFE
SEOUL, June 26 (UPI) — North Korea has completed construction of a massive “world-class” beach resort on its east coast and will open it to the public next week, state-run media reported Thursday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un cut the ribbon at an opening ceremony for the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area on Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency said.
The complex, described by KCNA as a “world-class cultural resort,” stretches along 2.5 miles of coastline and features houses, hotels and hostels for nearly 20,000 people. Attractions include “sea-bathing service facilities, various sports and recreation facilities and commercial and public catering facilities fully equipped with all conditions … for providing the beauty of the scenic spot on the east coast in all seasons,” KCNA said.
In remarks at the opening ceremony, Kim called the completion of the resort one of the country’s “greatest successes this year.”
“The Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area should play a leading role in establishing the tourist culture of the DPRK,” he said, using the official name for North Korea.
Kim was accompanied by his daughter, Ju-ae, and his wife, Ri Sol-ju. The public appearance was Ri’s first since a New Year’s Day arts performance on Jan. 1, 2024.
In photos released by KCNA, Ri is seen holding what appears to be a Gucci handbag worth nearly $3,000, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. The export of luxury goods to North Korea is prohibited under a United Nations Security Council resolution.
Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora also attended the ceremony.
Launched in 2014, the sprawling Wonsan tourist zone was initially slated to open in April 2019 but faced numerous setbacks, including international sanctions on materials and COVID-19 pandemic closures.
The resort will open for domestic visitors on July 1, KCNA said, without mentioning foreign tourists. International tourism offers a chance for the sanctions-hit North to earn foreign currency, but visitors have been almost nonexistent since Pyongyang sealed its borders at the start of the pandemic in January 2020.
In the wake of growing military and economic ties between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian travelers were the first to return to North Korea post-COVID, when an Air Koryo passenger flight arrived from Vladivostok early last year.
Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Wednesday that a train from Pyongyang arrived in Moscow, marking the resumption of direct rail service between the two capitals for the first time in five years.
In February, a handful of Western travel agencies began offering small group tours to Rason, a special economic zone in the northeast of the country near the borders of China and Russia. However, North Korea abruptly halted the visits after less than three weeks.
The United States last month extended its ban on travel to North Korea for the ninth year in a row, citing “imminent danger” posed by any trips to the authoritarian state.