Latest news with #WonsanKalma
The Sun
40 minutes ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Watch Kim Jong-un take in the fun at North Korea's ‘Benidorm' to FINALLY open next week… & Brits have signed up to visit
WATCH as Kim Jong Un surveys the "North Korean Benidorm" which will finally welcome guests next week after the dictator personally oversawthe bizarre project. Hundreds of Brits have already signed up to visit the artificial resort - eager for a glimpse of life inside the Hermit Kingdom - and Kim has now cut the ribbon. 11 11 11 11 The first guests will finally be welcomed to the Wonsan-Kalma resort next week after years of blundering delays. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un toured the site and made a grand speech at a ceremony on Tuesday. Footage shows him beaming in front of jack-rabbiting crowds and taking a seat to watch "volunteers" fly down waterslides. Kim declared that the completed project would go down as 'one of the greatest successes this year' and hailed the site as 'the proud first step' towards a thriving tourism industry. The only hitch is that very few foreigners are actually allowed into North Korea. Foreign visitors are almost exclusively Russian, reflecting Kim's bromance with Vladimir Putin. After a total shutdown during the pandemic, Pyongyang opened the border to Russian tourists in February 2024. Before Covid, Chinese group tours made up 90 percent of North Korea's overseas tourism, but that inflow is still being heavily limited. Wonsan-Kalma, built at a former missile base, is modelled on Spain's Costa Blanca. Kim event sent a party of stooges there in 2017 to take notes. Kim's sunken warship salvaged after humiliating launch & NK despot's raging reaction Work kept stalling and the site was even overrun by homeless wanderers - known as "kotjebi" in North Korea - who filled the empty hotels with faeces. But Kim plodded on with the project, and visited one numerous occasions to monitor progress. He was pictured strolling along the beach with his daughter Ju-ae at the end of last year. When word spread that the resort was almost ready, holiday planners On The Beach opened a link for people to express their interest - and it racked up more than 250 sign-ups from Brits within a month. This is despite a terrifying warning that a trip to the dictatorship could cost holidaymakers their lives. 11 11 11 11 Campaigners have warned that nobody's safety is assured in Kim's kingdom. Greg Scarlatoiu, director of the Committee for Human Rights in North Korea, said a trip there would be unsafe and immoral. He said: 'The Wonsan-Kalma resort was built with forced labour. Vacationing there is morally and ethically wrong – it is truly an abomination. 'Having Russian nationals vacation there is testament to the pathetic isolation of both Russia and North Korea.' Past tourists in the country have even lost their lives. Greg gave the example of Otto Warmbier, an American student arrested on dubious charges during a trip to Pyongyang in 2016. Accused of taking down a propaganda poster, he was detained for 17 months. 11 11
National Post
an hour ago
- Business
- National Post
North Korea will open its biggest tour site next week, though it still largely blocks foreigners
Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content 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. Article content Article content 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. Article content 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.
CTV News
3 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
3 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
3 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.
