Kim Jong-un unveils missile site turned beach resort in North Korea, tours may be next | World News

North Korea has officially opened the long-delayed Wonsan Kalma coastal resort, a project leader Kim Jong Un hopes will boost domestic tourism and eventually attract international visitors, according to state media KCNA. The resort, six years behind schedule, is set to welcome North Korean tours beginning 1 July, though no timeline has been confirmed for opening it to foreigners.ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
Spanning a 4-km (2.5-mile) stretch of the east coast, the resort reportedly includes hotels, restaurants, a shopping complex, and a water park, and claims to accommodate up to 20,000 visitors — none of which has been independently verified.
Kim, who spent part of his childhood in Wonsan where many of the country’s elite own private villas, has pushed to transform the town into a showcase for tourism. The area previously served as a missile testing site.
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Kim marked the resort’s completion on 24 June with a ceremony attended his wife, Ri Sol Ju, making her first public appearance since January, and their daughter, Kim Ju Ae. Kim described the launch as a “great, auspicious event of the whole country” and a “prelude to the new era” in tourism. Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora and his embassy staff also attended the ceremony, underscoring Pyongyang’s strengthening ties with Moscow.
In this photo provided the North Korean government, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second right, with his daughter, left, cuts the inaugural tape during a completion ceremony of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tour zone in North Korea Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)
While North Korea is among the world’s most isolated and impoverished nations — heavily sanctioned over its nuclear weapons programme — it is eyeing tourism as a revenue source. Foreign visitors, largely from China and Russia, have been allowed in under tight controls. The COVID-19 pandemic saw borders shut in 2020, with limited re-openings beginning in 2023.
Although North Korea briefly admitted some Western tours earlier this year, including visitors from the UK, Germany, and Australia, it abruptly halted those entries without explanation weeks later.
Tour operators are cautiously optimic. Rowan Beard of Young Pioneer Tours told the BBC he had hoped the Wonsan launch signaled a broader opening to international tourism, but said that “doesn’t seem to be the case for now.” He added that the resort was “unlikely to be a major draw for most Western tours” compared to the likes of Pyongyang or the DMZ.Story continues below this ad
Still, others say the resort could appeal to travellers interested in offbeat destinations. “It’s intriguing to experience something as familiar as a beach resort that’s been shaped within the unique cultural context of North Korea,” said Elliott Davies of Uri Tours.
The opening of Wonsan Kalma comes as North Korea and Russia solidify their partnership in defiance of Western sanctions. North Korea has reportedly sent troops to support Russia in Ukraine, and this week, the two nations resumed direct passenger rail service between their capitals for the first time since the pandemic began.