&w=3840&q=100)
North Korea's new tourist zone off-limits to foreigners amid Russia flights boost
North Korea has blocked foreigners from visiting a recently opened beach resort, the country's tourist office announced this week, only days after Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the area.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's favourite project, a vast coastal resort on the country's east coast, opened to domestic guests earlier this month to much fanfare in official media.
The Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, nicknamed 'North Korea's Waikiki' by South Korean media, seems to be lined with high-rise hotels and waterparks and can reportedly accommodate up to 20,000 people.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Previously, state media reported that Russian tour groups will visit Wonsan in the following months.
But following Lavrov's visit, the North's National Tourism Administration said 'foreign tourists are temporarily not being accepted' without giving further details, in a statement posted on an official website this week.
Kim showed a keen interest in developing North Korea's tourism industry during his early years in power, analysts have said, and the coastal resort area was a particular focus.
He said ahead of the opening of the beach resort that the construction of the site would go down as 'one of the greatest successes this year' and that the North would build more large-scale tourist zones 'in the shortest time possible'.
The North last year permitted Russian tourists to return for the first time since the pandemic and Western tour operators briefly returned in February this year.
Seoul's unification ministry, however, said that it expected international tourism to the new resort was 'likely to remain small in scale' given the limited capacity of available flights.
Kim held talks with Lavrov in Wonsan last week where he offered Moscow his full and 'unconditional' support for its war in Ukraine, KCNA reported.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Lavrov reportedly hailed the seaside project as a 'good tourist attraction', adding it would become popular among both local and Russian visitors looking for new destinations.
Ahead of Lavrov's recent visit, Russia announced that it would begin twice-a-week flights between Moscow and Pyongyang.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
PM Modi Most Popular Democratic Leader With 75% Approval Rating: Survey
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has emerged as the world's most popular democratic leader with a 75% approval rating, according to a recent global survey conducted by US-based data analytics firm Morning Consult. The survey, which reflects public sentiment collected between July 4 and 10, 2025, shows PM Modi well ahead of his global counterparts. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung followed with a 59% approval rating. Argentine President Javier Milei secured the third spot with 57%. The survey uses a rolling seven-day average to assess opinions among adult populations in each country. It is part of Morning Consult's ongoing Global Leader Approval Rating Tracker, which regularly measures the popularity of various democratic leaders. According to the report, only 18% of respondents disapproved of PM Modi's leadership, while 7% remained undecided or gave no opinion. PM Modi, who secured a third consecutive term in May 2024, continues to enjoy a dominant position in global rankings, reflecting both his domestic popularity and growing international recognition. US President Donald Trump, who returned to office last year, was ranked eighth, with only 44% expressing approval. As per reports, recent policy decisions, including controversial trade and domestic initiatives, may have affected his standing. Here's a look at the top 10 names from the survey: Narendra Modi (India): 75% approval, 7% no opinion, 18% disapproval Lee Jae-myung (South Korea): 59% approval, 13% no opinion, 29% disapproval Javier Milei (Argentina): 57% approval, 6% no opinion, 37% disapproval Mark Carney (Canada): 56% approval, 13% no opinion, 31% disapproval Anthony Albanese (Australia): 54% approval, 11% no opinion, 35% disapproval Claudia Sheinbaum (Mexico): 53% approval, 7% no opinion, 40% disapproval Karin Keller-Sutter (Switzerland): 48% approval, 24% no opinion, 28% disapproval Donald Trump (United States): 44% approval, 6% no opinion, 50% disapproval Donald Tusk (Poland): 41% approval, 11% no opinion, 49% disapproval Giorgia Meloni (Italy): 40% approval, 6% no opinion, 54% disapproval This recognition for PM Modi also coincides with another milestone in his political journey. As of July 26, 2025, he has completed 4,079 days in office, surpassing Indira Gandhi to become India's second-longest serving Prime Minister in an uninterrupted term. PM Modi is behind only the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. He is also the first and only non-Congress leader to have completed two full terms and been re-elected twice with a majority. This makes him the only non-Congress Prime Minister to independently secure a majority in the Lok Sabha.
The Hindu
2 hours ago
- The Hindu
Alternative education model based on ‘Bharatiya' philosophy need of the hour, says Mohan Bhagwat
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat has said that an alternative education model based on 'Bharatiya' philosophy is required for making a 'Viksit Bharat' (developed India). 'The educational system in the country emerged based on the long-term influence of Western ideas. To make a Viksit Bharat, we require an alternative education based on 'Bharatiyata' [Indianness],' he was quoted as saying in a release issued here. He was addressing delegates at the national 'Chintan Baitak' held as part of the education conclave organised by the 'Shiksha Samskriti Utthan Nyas' in Kochi. He said that the educational system recognised in the country had grown by imbibing Western concepts. A joint effort was required to develop an alternative based on Bharatiya ideals and values, he added.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Pope receives high-ranking Russian Orthodox cleric
Pope Leo XIV, left, shakes hands with Anthony Sevryuk, Metropolitan of Volokolamsk and Chairman of the Department of External Relations of the Russian Orthodox Church, during their meeting at the Vatican. (Pic credit: AP) VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV held a first meeting on Saturday with a senior Russian Orthodox cleric at the Vatican since becoming the head of the Catholic church earlier this year, the Holy See said without giving further details. Leo -- who has called on the Kremlin to make a "gesture" towards peace in Ukraine -- received Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk, the head of external relations at the Russian Orthodox Church. Relations between the Vatican and Moscow has been frosty for centuries. The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has sanctified Moscow's Ukraine invasion, which he has described as a "holy war." But Moscow had a dialogue with the late Pope Francis, widely criticised in Ukraine, with Metropolitan Anthony hold around a dozen meetings with the Argentinian pontiff. The Russian cleric told Italian newspaper La Repubblica days before the meeting that Francis had a "balanced approach" on Ukraine, while he did not know Leo's stance yet. Leo is the first American pope. He took over the church at a time when the United States is pushing for peace in Ukraine, in efforts that have so far yielded few results to stop the three-year war. Leo had received Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky earlier this month and has also spoken to Russia's Vladimir Putin by phone. The Vatican had earlier this year been floated as a possible platform for peace talks, but that idea was refuted by the Kremlin and negotiations have stayed in Istanbul. Anthony reiterated that, for Moscow, the Vatican would not be a "neutral" ground for any peace talks. Metropolitan Anthony was appointed as head of the Moscow church's external relations in 2022 -- the year Russia invaded Ukraine -- and had earlier been a church envoy in Italy.
