Kim Jong Un has pushed back the inauguration of his Benidorm-style beach resort, but he has vowed that the tourist destination will still open its doors this year.
The North Korean leader has been building luxury hotels and recreational facilities in the Wonsan-Kalma zone to create a ‘coastal wonderland’ for tourists.
It has been the dictator’s most talked about tourism project since plans for its development were announced in 2015.
Boasting 150 buildings, the resort is set to be one of the largest single-operator beach resorts in the world.
Plans previously showed that the resort would be able to accommodate up to 100,000 visitors at a time.
Originally set to open in May 2025, the holiday resort which sits on an immaculate white beach is also located next to a rocket-testing site.
Now, according to the official Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday that the resort’s grand opening will be pushed back and should open for tourists in June this year.
It will be kitted out with water parks, hotels and an airfield.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter Kim Ju Ae visit the newly built Kalma coastal tourist area in Wonsan, North Korea, December 29, 2024
The resort has been the dictator’s most talked about tourism project since plans for its development were announced in 2015
The resort’s gran opening has been pushed back from May to June
Kim’s inspiration came after his officials were left ‘amazed’ during a research trip to Spain’s Costa Blanca in 2017.
Over the weekend, the North Korean leader Kim and his daughter made a visit to the showpiece tourist resort on the country’s east coast.
State media on Tuesday released dozens of images of Kim Ju Ae accompanying her father on a tour of the Kalma resort on 29 December.
The photos show Kim and his daughter walking along the seaside, and touring opulent hotel rooms and facilities with heavy interior decoration.
He reportedly said: ‘The construction of the Kalma coastal tourist area is the first big step of great significance in putting the national tourist industry on a track of epochal development.’
North Korea has remained closed to tourists since Covid-19 in 2020.
The communist regime was the first to seal itself in 2020 as a response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The holiday resort which sits on an immaculate white beach, is also located next to a rocket-testing site
Kim’s inspiration came after his officials were left ‘amazed’ during a research trip to Spain’s Costa Blanca in 2017
North Korea has remained closed to tourists since Covid-19 in 2020
Since the pandemic, North Korea has only welcomed a select group of visitors, such as travelling diplomats or the odd tour group from Russia
North Korea has previously tried to promote tourism to earn income
Foreign tourists wanting to visit the super secretive North Korea can only do so under a supervised tour, through which guides have complete control over visitors will see
Kim Jong Un and his daughter pictured in a hotel room while they visited the newly built Kalma resort
Domestic travel is still strictly controlled but it could be possible that North Koreans will be allowed to go to the new resort at Wonsan
Foreigners are waiting to see if North Korea will allow them to return in 2025
Boasting 150 buildings, the resort is set to be one of the largest single-operator beach resorts in the world
Since the pandemic, North Korea has only welcomed a select group of visitors, such as travelling diplomats or the odd tour group from Russia.
It is not clear how North Korea is going to manage its relations with the outside world in 2025.
Previously, it tried to promote tourism to earn income.
Foreign tourists wanting to visit the super secretive North Korea can only do so under a supervised tour, through which guides have complete control over visitors will see.
Domestic travel is still strictly controlled but it could be possible that North Koreans will be allowed to go to the new resort at Wonsan.
There is an airport nearby and a ski resort which North Korean authorities promoted before Covid.
Foreigners are waiting to see if North Korea will allow them to return in 2025.