North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has announced plans for a new beachside tourist resort, marking what state media describes as a “first big step” toward revitalizing the country’s tourism sector. This development comes after North Korea reopened its borders in August 2023, nearly four years after strict closures were implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim emphasized the importance of the resort, which is part of the ongoing Wonsan-Kalma development project on the eastern coast, as a significant move in promoting tourism. During a tour of the site with his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, Kim was reportedly “feasting his eyes with a bright smile” as he inspected the waterfront and the largely deserted hotel facilities.
Kim expressed “great satisfaction” with the progress made, noting that the resort’s facilities are designed to host important external, political, and cultural events. He stated, “If the tourist industry is developed by making active use of such favorable conditions and environment, it will open up a new realm of socialist cultural construction and bring about another motive force for promoting regional rejuvenation and national economic growth.”
Analysts have observed that Kim has shown a strong interest in developing North Korea’s tourism industry since the early years of his leadership, with the Wonsan-Kalma project being one of his signature initiatives.
In a sign of the potential revival of tourism, a group of approximately 100 Russian tourists arrived in Pyongyang in February, marking the first known foreign tour group to visit since the lifting of border restrictions. The tourists subsequently traveled to a ski resort near Wonsan.
North Korea’s political, military, and cultural ties with Russia have strengthened
North Korea’s political, military, and cultural ties with Russia have strengthened since Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, further influencing the dynamics of tourism in the region. Before the pandemic, tourism to North Korea was limited, with around 5,000 Western tourists visiting annually. U.S. citizens accounted for about 20 percent of this market before travel bans were imposed following the imprisonment and subsequent death of American student Otto Warmbier.
As North Korea seeks to enhance its tourism sector, the success of the new resort project will be closely watched by analysts and observers of the region.
