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Euronews
26-06-2025
- Business
- Euronews
North Korea to open beach resort as Kim Jong-un eyes tourism
North Korea will open a beach resort on its east coast next week in what authoritarian leader Kim Jong-un hopes will be the 'first step' on the path to developing the country's tourism sector. The Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone, which spans a 4-kilometre section of beach, comprises hotels, restaurants, shopping centres and a water park, according to state media. Building began in the area in 2018, but was delayed by both construction problems and the COVID-19 pandemic. The zone, which can accommodate roughly 20,000 guests a year, will receive its first domestic visitors on Tuesday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. It is not known when international tourists will follow. At the resort's grand opening on Tuesday, Kim was accompanied by his wife, Ri Sol-ju, and their daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who is his presumed heir. Russian Ambassador Alexander Matsegora also attended as a special guest, the KCNA confirmed. The state-run news agency reported Kim as saying that the completion of Wonsan-Kalma would be 'one of the greatest successes this year', adding that the site was 'the proud first step' towards boosting the country's tourism industry. Analysts say Russian visitors will likely be granted access before other foreigners, given the close relationship between the two countries. North Korea and Russia deepened their alliance last year by signing a mutual defence treaty. Pyongyang has also sent thousands of troops to its neighbour to help with its war against Ukraine. 'I think North Korea will soon accept Russian tourists, given the Russian embassy officials attended the ceremony,' said Lee Sangkeun, an expert at South Korea's Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank run by Seoul'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 added. Pyongyang's foreign tourist ban, which was implemented in 2020 during the pandemic, still has not been fully lifted. However, Russian groups have been permitted to visit certain parts of the country.
Boston Globe
26-06-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
North Korea will open its biggest tourist site next week, though it's not yet welcoming foreigners
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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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. Advertisement 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.
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Business Standard
07-05-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Kim Jong Un urges more artillery output as North Korea deepens Russia ties
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his munitions industry to boost the production of artillery shells, state media said Wednesday, as the country continues to supply arms and troops to support Russia's war on Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim, during recent visits to unspecified munitions and machinery factories, praised modernisation efforts that the agency claimed enabled the facilities to double their annual shell production urged workers to further accelerate artillery shell production, calling it crucial to strengthening the fighting efficiency of his armed forces, and also called for the development of more advanced machinery to boost munitions READ: North Korea, Russia begin building first road link to boost growing tiesKCNA did not mention any comments from Kim regarding his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of South Korean intelligence assessments suggest that North Korea has sent about 15,000 soldiers to Russia, and that nearly 5,000 of them have been killed or injured while fighting against Ukrainian and Seoul have also accused North Korea of supplying Russia with various types of military equipment, including artillery systems and shells and ballistic denying its war involvement for months, North Korea last month confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to help Russia in recapturing parts of the Kursk region, which had fallen to a surprise Ukrainian incursion last READ: 4,700 North Korean soldiers killed or wounded fighting for Russia: S KoreaMoscow also acknowledged the North Korean involvement, with Putin issuing a statement thanking the North for sending troops to support his forces and promising not to forget their say North Korea's official acknowledgment of its military support for Russia is likely aimed at cementing a deeper, long-term partnership with Moscow and securing greater compensation, potentially including advanced military technology that could enhance the threat posed by Kim's nuclear-armed formalising its role as a participant in the war, North Korea may also be positioning itself to seek compensation in future negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, according to a recent report by the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea's intelligence READ: Russia calls for settlements of disagreement between India, PakistanIn a closed-door briefing to lawmakers last month, South Korea's National Intelligence Service also said it believes that North Korea has sent about 15,000 workers to Russia under bilateral industrial cooperation the value of North Korean artillery and missiles supplied to Russia likely amounts to billions of dollars, there are no immediate signs that Russia has provided direct cash payments in return, the agency said. Instead, Russia has likely compensated North Korea with air defence missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches, according to the assessment.
Belfast Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Kim Jong Un calls for increased artillery shell production
North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Mr Kim, during recent visits to unspecified munitions and machinery factories, praised modernisation efforts that the agency claimed enabled the facilities to double their annual shell production capacity. Mr Kim urged workers to further accelerate artillery shell production, calling it crucial to 'strengthening the fighting efficiency' of his armed forces, and also called for the development of more advanced machinery to boost munitions output. The call comes as the country continues to supply arms and troops to support Russia's war on Ukraine. KCNA did not mention any comments from Mr Kim regarding his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Recent South Korean intelligence assessments suggest North Korea has sent about 15,000 soldiers to Russia, and that nearly 5,000 of them have been killed or injured while fighting against Ukrainian forces. Washington and Seoul have also accused North Korea of supplying Russia with various types of military equipment, including artillery systems and shells and ballistic missiles. After denying its war involvement for months, North Korea last month confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to help Russia in recapturing parts of the Kursk region, which had fallen to a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year. Moscow also acknowledged the North Korean involvement, with Mr Putin issuing a statement thanking the North for sending troops to support his forces and promising not to forget their sacrifices. Analysts say North Korea's official acknowledgement of its military support for Russia is likely aimed at cementing a deeper, long-term partnership with Moscow and securing greater compensation, potentially including advanced military technology that could enhance the threat posed by Mr Kim's nuclear-armed forces. By formalising its role as a participant in the war, North Korea may also be positioning itself to seek compensation in future negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, according to a recent report by the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea's intelligence agency. In a closed-door briefing to lawmakers last month, South Korea's National Intelligence Service also said it believes North Korea has sent about 15,000 workers to Russia under bilateral industrial cooperation programmes. While the value of North Korean artillery and missiles supplied to Russia likely amounts to billions of dollars, there are no immediate signs that Russia has provided direct cash payments in return, the agency said. Instead, Russia has likely compensated North Korea with air defence missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches, according to the assessment.
07-05-2025
- Business
North Korean leader urges increased artillery shell production amid Russian alignment
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for his munitions industry to boost the production of artillery shells, state media said Wednesday, as the country continues to supply arms and troops to support Russia's war on Ukraine. North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said that Kim, during recent visits to unspecified munitions and machinery factories, praised modernization efforts that the agency claimed enabled the facilities to double their annual shell production capacity. Kim urged workers to further accelerate artillery shell production, calling it crucial to 'strengthening the fighting efficiency' of his armed forces, and also called for the development of more advanced machinery to boost munitions output. KCNA did not mention any comments from Kim regarding his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Recent South Korean intelligence assessments suggest that North Korea has sent about 15,000 soldiers to Russia, and that nearly 5,000 of them have been killed or injured while fighting against Ukrainian forces. Washington and Seoul have also accused North Korea of supplying Russia with various types of military equipment, including artillery systems and shells and ballistic missiles. After denying its war involvement for months, North Korea last month confirmed for the first time that it had sent combat troops to help Russia in recapturing parts of the Kursk region, which had fallen to a surprise Ukrainian incursion last year. Moscow also acknowledged the North Korean involvement, with Putin issuing a statement thanking the North for sending troops to support his forces and promising not to forget their sacrifices. Analysts say North Korea's official acknowledgment of its military support for Russia is likely aimed at cementing a deeper, long-term partnership with Moscow and securing greater compensation, potentially including advanced military technology that could enhance the threat posed by Kim's nuclear-armed forces. By formalizing its role as a participant in the war, North Korea may also be positioning itself to seek compensation in future negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine, according to a recent report by the Institute for National Security Strategy, a think tank affiliated with South Korea's intelligence agency. In a closed-door briefing to lawmakers last month, South Korea's National Intelligence Service also said it believes that North Korea has sent about 15,000 workers to Russia under bilateral industrial cooperation programs. While the value of North Korean artillery and missiles supplied to Russia likely amounts to billions of dollars, there are no immediate signs that Russia has provided direct cash payments in return, the agency said. Instead, Russia has likely compensated North Korea with air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones and technology for spy satellite launches, according to the assessment.
