The extensive seaside resort located on the east coast of the hermit country, a favored initiative of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was opened to domestic visitors earlier this month amidst significant publicity in state-run media.
North Korea’s National Tourism Administration has reportedly banned international travelers from visiting a newly inaugurated beach resort.
The extensive seaside resort located on the east coast of the hermit country, a favored initiative of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, was opened to domestic visitors earlier this month amidst significant publicity in state-run media.
Referred to as “North Korea’s Waikiki” by South Korean media, the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone can reportedly accommodate around 20,000 visitors with its high-rise hotels and water parks.
North Korean state media had previously announced that visits to Wonsan by Russian organized tour groups were expected in the upcoming months.
However, North Korea’s National Tourism Administration, in a statement released on its official website this week announced that “foreign tourists are temporarily not being accepted” without providing additional details.
Kim expressed a strong interest in enhancing North Korea’s tourism sector during his initial years in leadership, according to analysts, with a specific emphasis on the coastal resort area.
He has said prior to the inauguration of the beach resort that the establishment of the site would be remembered as “one of the greatest successes this year” and that North Korea would develop additional large-scale tourist areas “as swiftly as possible.”
Last year, North Korea allowed Russian tourists to visit for the first time since the onset of the pandemic, and Western tour operators made a brief return in February of this year.
However, Seoul’s unification ministry noted that it anticipated international tourism to the new resort would “likely remain limited in scale” due to the restricted availability of flights.
Russia however has declared its intention to launch bi-weekly flights between Moscow and Pyongyang.
