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Times
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Gucci handbags and water slides: North Korea's first lady makes rare appearance
It is summertime in North Korea and the dictator, Kim Jong-un, a man who usually relishes inspecting ballistic missiles and battleships, visited a new seaside resort. But when pictures of the walkabout were released this week it was not the sight of the autocrat grinning on the beach or watching as a reveller launched himself off a waterslide that caught the eye of Pyongyang watchers but rather who was by the leader's side. Ri Sol-ju, the hermit kingdom's first lady, appeared in public for the first time in 17 months. It was a carefully staged display of family unity aimed at reinforcing the image of a stable and enduring Kim family regime. She appeared alongside her husband and their daughter Kim Ju-ae at the long-delayed opening of the Wonsan Kalma resort, a flagship tourism project on the country's east coast. Images released two days after the event showed the trio attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony and reviewing the sprawling seaside complex. Ri, 35, was dressed in a white blouse and loose black trousers, and was apparently carrying a Gucci handbag. The first lady's last known appearance in public was at a New Year's Day arts performance in January 2024, after which their teenage daughter has taken on an increasingly prominent public role. Kim's powerful sister Kim Yo-jong stood at a distance, emphasising the primacy of her brother, sister-in-law and niece. 'This is a choreographed move designed to project an image of an ideal socialist family embodied by the Kims,' Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the South China Morning Post. Ri's return to public view may be part of an effort to complement her daughter's rising profile. Introduced officially in 2012 and later given the title 'respected first lady,' Ri has had long periods away from the spotlight before reappearing during high-profile diplomatic events in 2018. In contrast to her mother's low profile Ju-ae has been seen accompanying her father to events and ceremonies since her public debut at a missile launch in November 2022. She was initially referred to on state media as the 'beloved' daughter of Kim. In 2023, on a greenhouse tour in Kangdong county, home to the Kims' summer retreat, that reference was switched to 'respected', the term used to describe her father, fuelling speculation that she was being prepared to eventually take over the reins from him. Ju-ae is believed to have an older brother and a younger sibling, though they have not been seen in public. Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies, told South Korean media that Ri's reduced presence may have been strategic, allowing her daughter to assume greater prominence. The Wonsan Kalma resort, first announced in 2016 with an intended opening in 2019, had been repeatedly delayed by international sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic. The seaside playground can accommodate nearly 20,000 guests, and features beaches, sports and recreation and catering services, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). 'The Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area should play a leading role in establishing North Korea's tourism culture,' Kim was quoted as saying. Mostly catering to Chinese and some Russian visitors from the shared borders to the north, North Korea's tourism industry is strictly controlled by the reclusive communist government — all visitors must be accompanied by guides and contact with most citizens is prohibited.'The Kim regime is domestically projecting an image of the resort as fit for royalty. It is meant to symbolise that the North Korean leadership is delivering not only security in the form of nuclear weapons, but also economic development that can reward citizens loyal to the regime with a luxury holiday,' said Leif-Eric Easley, a North Korea expert and professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. While the Kim family crafted a message of unity at home, reports from Seoul suggest Pyongyang is expanding its involvement in Russia's war in Ukraine. North Korea is likely to send additional troops to support Russia in the conflict, possibly as early as next month or August, South Korea's spy agency told the country's national assembly on Thursday. The assessment by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) follows Russian media reports that Pyongyang will dispatch 5,000 military construction workers and 1,000 sappers to the Kursk region bordering Ukraine. 'North Korea is continuing to send troops and supply weapons to Russia, and we see its support has played a significant role in Moscow's efforts to retake Kursk,' AFP quoted Lee Seong-kweun, a member of the national assembly, telling reporters after an NIS briefing. 'After dispatching 11,000 personnel in October last year, Russia has already announced a second deployment of 4,000 troops, and a further 6,000 construction troops to assist in rebuilding Kursk,' he said. North Korea has provided Russia with more than ten million artillery shells, missiles and long-range weapons in exchange for economic co-operation and technical support, the NIS said. As Kim Jong-un projects family unity at home and strategic ties abroad, the policy appears designed to reinforce both domestic authority and international relevance, securing the future of the regime.
Toronto Sun
9 hours ago
- Toronto Sun
North Korea will open its biggest tour site next week, though it still largely blocks foreigners
Published Jun 26, 2025 • 4 minute read In this photo provided by the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, sitting centre, with his wife Ri Sol Ju, rear, and daughter tours the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone in North Korea Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Photo by Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP / AP SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea next week will open a signature coastal tourist site that it says will usher in a new era in its tourism industry, though there is no word on when the country will fully reopen to foreign visitors. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account The Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone has hotels and other accommodations for nearly 20,000 guests who can swim in the sea, engage in sports and recreation activities and eat at restaurants and cafeterias on site, state media said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the site and cut the inaugural tape at a lavish ceremony Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday. Kim said its construction would be recorded as 'one of the greatest successes this year' and called the site 'the proud first step' toward realizing the government's policy of developing tourism, according to KCNA. North Korea will open the site to domestic tourists first The Wonsan-Kalma beach resort is North Korea's biggest tourist site. KCNA said North Korea will begin service for domestic tourists next Tuesday. It didn't say when North Korea will start receiving foreign tourists, but Russian officials said later Thursday that the first Russian tour to the site will happen in July. Plan your next getaway with Travel Time, featuring travel deals, destinations and gear. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Observers say the resort likely required a huge investment from North Korea's limited budget, so it eventually will have to accept Chinese and other foreign tourists too to break even. Kim has been pushing to make the country a tourism hub as part of efforts to revive the ailing economy, and the Wonsan-Kalma zone is one of his most talked-about tourism projects. KCNA reported North Korea will confirm plans to build large tourist sites in other parts of the country, too. But North Korea hasn't fully lifted a ban on foreign tourists that it imposed in early 2020 to guard against the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say North Korea has been slow to resume its international tourism because of remaining pandemic curbs, a flare-up of tensions with the U.S. and South Korea in recent years and worries about Western tourists spreading a negative image of its system. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Russia's Primorsky region, which borders North Korea, said that the first group of Russian tourists to the resort will depart on July 7. The region's press service said that during their eight-day trip, Russian tourists will also have an opportunity to visit major attractions in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, according to Russian state news agency Tass. Starting from February 2024, North Korea has already been accepting Russian tourists to other areas amid the booming military and other partnerships between the two countries, but Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled. In February this year, a small group of international tourists visited North Korea for the first time in five years, but tourist agencies said in March that their tours to North Korea were paused. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Kim's recent foreign policy prioritizes relations with Russia as he's been supplying troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine in return for economic and military assistance. But North Korea's ties with China, which has long been its biggest trading partner and aid benefactor, have apparently cooled as China is reluctant to join an anti-Western alliance with North Korea and Russia, analysts say. Tuesday's ceremony that marked the completion of the resort's construction drew the Russian ambassador to North Korea and his embassy staff, KCNA said. But it didn't say whether any Chinese diplomats were also invited. 'There seems to be issues that North Korea hasn't yet resolved in its relations with China. But North Korea has put in too much money on tourism and plans to spend more. Subsequently, to get its money's worth, North Korea can't help receiving Chinese tourists,' Lee Sangkeun, an expert at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea's intelligence agency. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, also said that foreign tourism to the Wonsan-Kalma site will begin with Russians. But he said Chinese tours to the zone, a sort of civilian exchange, will also begin soon, adding bilateral trade between China and North Korea has been recovering. South Korean and American tours won't likely happen soon Lim said that South Korean and American tours to North Korea won't likely restart anytime soon, though both new liberal South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump have expressed hopes to revive dialogue with North Korea. In January when Trump boasted about his ties with Kim, he said 'I think he has tremendous condo capabilities. He's got a lot of shoreline,' a likely reference to Wonsan-Kalma. North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's outreach. It has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul's dialogue offers and focused on expanding its nuclear weapons program since Kim's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. — Associated Press writer Katie Marie Davies in Manchester, England, contributed to this report. Canada Sunshine Girls Toronto Raptors Toronto & GTA Music
CTV News
11 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
North Korea will open its biggest tourist site next week, though it's not yet welcoming foreigners
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, sitting centre, with his wife Ri Sol Ju, rear, and daughter tours the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone in North Korea Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. The content of this image is as provided and cannot be independently verified. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea next week will open a signature coastal tourist site that it says will usher in a new era in its tourism industry, though there is no word on when the country will fully reopen to foreign visitors. The Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone has hotels and other accommodations for nearly 20,000 guests who can swim in the sea, engage in sports and recreation activities and eat at restaurants and cafeterias on site, state media said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the site and cut the inaugural tape at a lavish ceremony Tuesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported Thursday. Kim said its construction would be recorded as 'one of the greatest successes this year' and called the site 'the proud first step' toward realizing the government's policy of developing tourism, according to KCNA. North Korea will open the site to domestic tourists first The Wonsan-Kalma beach resort is North Korea's biggest tourist site. KCNA said it will begin service for domestic tourists next Tuesday, but the report didn't say when it will start receiving foreign tourists. Observers say the resort likely required a huge investment from North Korea's limited budget, so it eventually will have to accept Chinese and other foreign tourists to break even. Kim has been pushing to make the country a tourism hub as part of efforts to revive the ailing economy, and the Wonsan-Kalma zone is one of his most talked-about tourism projects. KCNA reported North Korea will confirm plans to build large tourist sites in other parts of the country, too. But North Korea hasn't fully lifted a ban on foreign tourists that it imposed in early 2020 to guard against the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts say North Korea has been slow to resume its international tourism because of remaining pandemic curbs, a flare-up of tensions with the U.S. and South Korea in recent years and worries about Western tourists spreading a negative image of its system. Russian and Chinese tourists will likely travel to the resort Starting from February 2024, North Korea has been accepting Russian tourists amid the booming military and other partnerships between the two countries, but Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled. In February this year, a small group of international tourists visited the country for the first time in five years, but tourist agencies said in March that their tours to North Korea were paused. Kim's recent foreign policy prioritizes relations with Russia as he's been supplying troops and conventional weapons to support its war against Ukraine in return for economic and military assistance. But North Korea's ties with China, which has long been its biggest trading partner and aid benefactor, have apparently cooled as China is reluctant to join an anti-Western alliance with North Korea and Russia, analysts say. Tuesday's ceremony that marked the completion of the resort's construction drew the Russian ambassador to North Korea and his embassy staff, KCNA said. But it didn't say whether any Chinese diplomats were also invited. 'I think North Korea will soon accept Russian tourists, given the Russian Embassy officials attended the ceremony. Summer business is important' for the beach resort, said Lee Sangkeun, an expert at the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by South Korea's intelligence agency. 'There seems to be issues that North Korea hasn't yet resolved in its relations with China. But North Korea has put in too much money on tourism and plans to spend more. Subsequently, to get its money's worth, North Korea can't help receiving Chinese tourists,' Lee said. Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University's Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, also said that foreign tourism to the Wonsan-Kalma site will begin with Russians. But he said Chinese tours to the zone, a sort of civilian exchange, will also begin soon, adding bilateral trade between China and North Korea has been recovering. South Korean and American tours won't likely happen soon Lim said that South Korean and American tours to North Korea won't likely restart anytime soon, though both new liberal South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and U.S. President Donald Trump have expressed hopes to revive dialogue with North Korea. In January when Trump boasted about his ties with Kim, he said 'I think he has tremendous condo capabilities. He's got a lot of shoreline,' a likely reference to Wonsan-Kalma. North Korea hasn't publicly responded to Trump's outreach. It has repeatedly rejected Washington and Seoul's dialogue offers and focused on expanding its nuclear weapons program since Kim's high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with Trump collapsed in 2019. Hyung-jin Kim, The Associated Press
Sky News
11 hours ago
- Business
- Sky News
North Korea opens huge coastal resort as Kim Jong Un celebrates 'one of the greatest successes this year'
North Korea has built a huge coastal resort which might one day open to foreign tourists. The secretive state's leader Kim Jong Un opened the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area with "great satisfaction", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Mr Kim toured the site and said its construction would be considered "one of the greatest successes this year" and called it "the proud first step" towards realising the government's policy of developing tourism. The beach resort can accommodate around 20,000 visitors and will open to domestic tourists next Tuesday, but the report did not say when it would welcome foreign visitors. Mr Kim opened the resort with his daughter, and presumed heir, Kim Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju. The North Korean leader has been working to shape the hermit kingdom into a tourist destination as part of efforts to revive its struggling economy. State media says North Korea will confirm plans to build large tourist sites in other locations as well. North Korea is yet to fully lift the ban on foreign tourists it imposed in early 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. From February 2024 it has been accepting Russian tourists amid the deepening relations between the two countries, but Chinese group tours remain stalled, despite making up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic. Russia's ambassador to North Korea and his embassy staff attended the ceremony marking the completion of the resort, KCNA said. It did not say whether any Chinese diplomats had been invited.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
North Korea opens huge coastal resort as Kim Jong Un celebrates 'one of the greatest successes this year'
North Korea has built a huge coastal resort which might one day open to foreign tourists. The secretive state's leader Kim Jong Un opened the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area with "great satisfaction", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Mr Kim toured the site and said its construction would be considered "one of the greatest successes this year" and called it "the proud first step" towards realising the government's policy of developing tourism. The beach resort can accommodate around 20,000 visitors and will open to domestic tourists next Tuesday, but the report did not say when it would welcome foreign visitors. Mr Kim opened the resort with his daughter, and presumed heir, Kim Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju. The North Korean leader has been working to shape the hermit kingdom into a tourist destination as part of efforts to revive its struggling economy. State media says North Korea will confirm plans to build large tourist sites in other locations as well. North Korea is yet to fully lift the ban on foreign tourists it imposed in early 2020 in response to the coronavirus pandemic. From February 2024 it has been accepting Russian tourists amid the deepening relations between the two countries, but Chinese group tours remain stalled, despite making up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic. Russia's ambassador to North Korea and his embassy staff attended the ceremony marking the completion of the resort, KCNA said. It did not say whether any Chinese diplomats had been invited. Read more: A small group of international tourists visited the country for the first time in February this year, but in March travel agencies said their tours to North Korea were paused. In April it held a marathon event which hosted foreign runners.
