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Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
North Korea opens beach resort with slides, swimming pool to boost tourism
North Koreans enjoyed water activities including, swimming and riding water park slides amid ban on entry of foreign tourists at the newly opened Wonsan-Kalma eastern coastal tourist zone, state media reported. This photo provided on July 2, 2025, by the North Korean government, shows a beach resort in the Wonsan-Kalma eastern coastal tourist zone on July 1, 2025. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)(AP) The Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area resort is reportedly set to welcome Russian guests later this month. The giant beach resort, dubbed "North Korea's Waikiki" by South Korean media, can reportedly accommodate nearly 20,000 people and is the core of leader Kim Jon Un's push towards improving the economy and boosting tourism in a regime which is one of the most secretive and repressive in the world. Will North Korea open borders for tourism? However, the prospects of the tourist complex remains unclear as the country most likely won't fully reopen its borders and embrace Western tourists anytime soon. According to the reports by the official Korean Central News Agency, the Wonsan Kalma area began its services Tuesday, attracting a large number of people. North Koreans were seen enjoying open water swimming, slides and other attractions present at a water park. North Koreans of all ages from across the country flocked to the site this week "filled with joy at experiencing a new level of civilization", news agency AFP quoted lines from a KCNA report. The visitors were "astonished by the grandeur and splendor of the tourist city, where more than 400... artistically designed buildings lined the white sandy beach in ideal harmony", it added. Photos released by North Korean state media featured children with inflatable tubes and balls dipping in the sea while others wore colorful swimsuits and sat behind the red and white parasols. During the inaugural session last week, Kim said that the site would become 'one of the greatest successes this year" calling its opening 'the proud first step' toward realizing the government's policy of developing tourism. North Korea slowly reopening borders Since 2022, North Korea has been gradually easing the curbs imposed during the Covid-19 pandemic and reopening its borders in phases. Despite this, the country has not clarified if it would fully resume international tourism. Since February 2024, North Korea has been accepting tourists from Russia with the expanding military cooperation between the two. But Russian records seen by South Korean experts still show a little more than 2,000 Russians. Of this, only about 880 of them are tourists who visited North Korea last year. Meanwhile, Russia's Primorsky region, which borders North Korea, said last week that the first group of Russian tourists to the Wonsan-Kalma resort will depart on July 7. (With AP Inputs)
Global News
6 days ago
- Business
- Global News
North Korea debuts new beach resort in tourism push
North Korea's Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un has officially opened a new beach resort in the country's Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone — six years after it was due to be completed, state media reported on Thursday. The massive tourist zone, located on North Korea's east coast, is part of a key project pushed by Kim Jong Un for years to promote tourism in the notoriously exclusionist country. View image in full screen In this photo provided by 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 tourist zone in North Korea, Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP With 'great satisfaction,' Kim attended an inaugural ceremony for the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, adding that the resort can accommodate about 20,000 visitors and that the country would build more large-scale tourist zones quickly. Story continues below advertisement According to the national news agency, the tourist area offers sunbathing facilities along a four-kilometre beach and various sports, amusement, commercial and public catering services as well as a wide variety of accommodations, year-round. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The area has long been a vacation destination for locals, but Kim wanted to transform it into a sprawling billion-dollar tourism hotspot inspired by 'Korean-style tourism.' 'When Kim Jong Un arrived, stormy cheers of 'Hurrah!' resounded far and wide,' the KCNA reported. Tourism in North Korea is not an industry targeted by United Nations sanctions, but the elusive country did not collaborate with any foreign partner to develop the Wonsan project because of economic sanctions over its nuclear weapons programs. North Korea is one of the world's most impoverished countries, and has been run by the Kim family since 1948, who channel most of the isolated state's capital into its military, national monuments and landmarks in Pyongyang, the country's capital. The new beach resort will be open to domestic visitors as of July 1, KCNA confirmed, but there was no mention of allowing international tourists. North Korea shut its borders in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic but has been slowly lifting restrictions since 2023, allowing Russian visitors in the following year. Russian tourist groups have been allowed into North Korea, but its capital is usually closed to regular tourism, though in April, it hosted a marathon event with foreign participants. Story continues below advertisement The Russian ambassador to North Korea and embassy staff were in attendance as special guests during the beach resort opening ceremony, KCNA said. Russia and North Korea are partnering to grow tourism in both countries and have restarted a direct commuter train service between their capitals, Moscow and Pyongyang, for the first time since 2020. — With files from Reuters
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
North Korea to send military construction workers to Russia
North Korea's planned dispatch of thousands of military construction workers and deminers to Russia's Kursk region will likely take place as early as July or August, South Korea's spy agency told lawmakers Thursday. After a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang last week, top Russian security official Sergei Shoigu said Mr Kim decided to send 1,000 sappers and 5,000 military construction workers to help rebuild the war-torn area. North Korea has already provided combat troops and ammunition to support Russia's war efforts against Ukraine. Kim Jong Un met Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) On Thursday, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) told a closed-door parliamentary committee meeting that the dispatch of those 6,000 additional military personnel will likely come as early as July or August, according to Lee Seong Kweun, one of the officials who attended the meeting. Mr Lee cited the NIS as saying that North Korea has begun recruiting soldiers to be sent to Russia. He told reporters the NIS noted that North Korea's dispatch of combat troops last year came about one month after Mr Shoigu visited North Korea and signed an agreement with Pyongyang officials. In April, Pyongyang and Moscow announced that their soldiers fought together to repel a Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk border region. The two countries haven't disclosed how many North Korean soldiers have been deployed in Russia, but South Korea, US and Ukraine officials said North Korea last autumn sent about 10,000-12,000 troops to Russia. South Korea said North Korea deployed about 3,000-4,000 additional soldiers to Russia earlier this year. Kim Jong Un (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP) In return for North Korea's supply of troops and weapons, Russia is believed to have given North Korea military and economic assistance. South Korea, the US and their allies are concerned that Russia could even transfer sensitive technologies that can enhance North Korea's nuclear programme. In its briefing on Thursday, the NIS said it believed Russia has sent North Korea air defence systems, electronic jamming equipment and technological knowhow for space rocket engines, drones and missile guidance as well as unspecified economic help.
Toronto Sun
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
Where are the world's nuclear weapons, and who owns them?
While only nine countries own nuclear weapons, six countries are currently hosting nuclear weapons on their soil for other countries Published Jun 24, 2025 • 5 minute read This undated photo provided on Friday, Sept. 13, 2024, by the North Korean government shows its leader Kim Jong Un, center, on an inspecting visit at what they say is an institute of nuclear weapons and a facility for nuclear materials at an undisclosed location in North Korea. Independent journalists were not given access to cover the event depicted in this image distributed by the North Korean government. Photo by Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP U.S. President Donald Trump claims to have 'obliterated' Iran's nuclear facilities after ordering attacks on three sites this weekend – even as questions remain about the impact of the strikes and how much they could have delayed Iran from producing a nuclear weapon. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Israel and Iran's 12 days of fighting, which sparked fears of a regional war, has also brought attention to which countries possess nuclear weapons, and where they are kept around the world. Nine countries, including the United States and Israel, are thought to own nuclear weapons. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which researches arms control, warned this month that a new nuclear arms race could be on the horizon. Here's a look at which countries have nuclear weapons, how big their stockpiles are, and where they are. — U.S., Russia are thought to own 87 percent of all nuclear weapons As of early 2025, there are nine countries that own an estimated total of 12,241 nuclear warheads, with Russia and the United States possessing the vast majority, according to SIPRI and the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit that focuses on promoting transparency about nuclear arsenals. The United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel are believed to own the remaining 13 percent of nuclear weapons, according to the FAS. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Some of those warheads have been retired, but are still intact and have not yet been dismantled, according to FAS estimates. With about 9,614 in the military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines, FAS researchers have classified 3,912 of those warheads as 'deployed strategic and nonstrategic warheads,' meaning that they are either on intercontinental missiles or heavy bomber bases, or are located on bases with operational short-range delivery systems. Countries typically keep the exact sizes of their nuclear stockpiles secret, so nuclear weapons watchdogs and analysts can only provide estimates on each country's numbers. Only the United States, the United Kingdom and France have ever publicly disclosed information on the size of their nuclear arsenals, according to SIPRI, and the FAS notes that nuclear transparency has decreased in recent years. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Israel, thought to be the only nuclear-armed power in the Middle East, has a policy of not confirming or denying that it possesses nuclear weapons – but is estimated to have around 90 nuclear weapons in its possession. FAS researchers say they based their estimations on 'publicly available information, careful analysis of historical records, and occasional leaks,' and they are in line with similar estimations made by other research institutes and watchdog organizations. — What countries host nuclear weapons? While only nine countries own nuclear weapons, six countries are currently hosting nuclear weapons on their soil for other countries – five for the United States, and one for Russia, according to experts. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. NATO operates a nuclear sharing agreement where the United States stores a number of nuclear weapons in certain locations in Europe. Historically, the United States and its European partners have been tight-lipped about where the weapons are – but it has widely been considered an open secret that they are stored on bases in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey and Belgium. The countries are storing a combined total of about 100 nuclear weapons belonging to the United States within their borders, according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of organizations seeking to eliminate and ban nuclear weapons. Greece no longer hosts nuclear weapons for the U.S. but has a reserve squadron for contingency missions, FAS researchers said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. These weapons are all under the control of the United States, but housing these weapons within these allied states acts 'as a way of assuring the engagement of the United States in their defense,' said Lukasz Kulesa, the director of proliferation and nuclear policy at the Royal United Services Institute in Britain. 'It's confirming that the United States has skin in the fight,' Kulesa said. Storing the weapons with other countries also acts as a nonproliferation tool, Kulesa said. 'If they have these weapons from the United States on their soil, then these countries will not consider getting their own nuclear weapons,' he said. In March 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to store tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. Three months later, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a longtime Putin supporter, claimed that his country had begun taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. However, SIPRI noted in its 2025 report that while both Russia and Belarus have continued to claim that nuclear weapons have been deployed to Belarus, 'there was no conclusive evidence of this deployment.' ICAN also lists the quantity of warheads hosted in Belarus as 'unknown.' — What is the future of the global nuclear weapon arsenal? At the height of the Cold War, the total global inventory of nuclear warheads reached 70,000. The trend over the past few decades has been toward decreasing the number of stockpiles – but with conflicts threatening the national security of countries around the world, that time may be over, experts said. 'The signs are that a new qualitative nuclear arms race is gearing up and, compared with the last one, the risks are likely to be more diverse and more serious,' SIPRI Director Dan Smith wrote in the 2025 SIPRI Yearbook report on nuclear disarmament and international security. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Kulesa said he expected to see countries' stockpiles stay steady or increase. 'Right now, we are in a situation where we have nine nuclear weapon possessors that in most cases see the value that nuclear weapons have for their security doctrines,' he said. However, Kulesa added, common knowledge of Israel's nuclear arsenal has not deterred other countries or armed groups from attacking it, and western states have sent aid to Kyiv despite Russia's nuclear threats – suggesting that 'the traditional approach to nuclear deterrence,' or the belief that the fear of a nuclear attack brings 'some degree of stability,' is flawed. 'The idea was that increasing your defensive potential will discourage the other side from attacking in the first place, but it is actually being seen by the other side as decreasing the deterrence value of their own forces,' Kulesa said. 'You have, in a sense, a circle in which any decision to boost defense will lead to an increase of nuclear forces.' Toronto & GTA Toronto Blue Jays Toronto & GTA NHL MMA
Asahi Shimbun
04-06-2025
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
North Korea pulls capsized warship upright after botched launch, report says
In this photo provided by the North Korean government, its leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a launching ceremony of a new naval destroyer at a western port in Nampo, North Korea, on April 25. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via REUTERS) SEOUL--North Korea appears to have returned to an upright position its stricken Choe Hyun Class destroyer that partially capsized during a botched launching ceremony, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. Leader Kim Jong Un, who witnessed the failed launch of the 5,000-ton warship, said the accident damaged the country's dignity and vowed to punish those found responsible. Commercial satellite imagery from June 2 showed the destroyer upright for the first time since the May 21 accident, the 38 North program, which studies the nuclear-armed North, said in a report. Since the accident, North Korea has said it detained several officials, and Kim ordered the ship restored before a ruling party meeting this month. 'Commercial satellite imagery shows workers at the port in Chongjin have taken a significant step towards that goal,' 38 North said in its report. Workers were observed pulling tethers, and possibly using barrage balloons, in a manual effort to right the ship, it added. The imagery shows the vessel's bow still on land, with possible damage to its sonar section. 'To repair this, the ship will need to be moved out of the water to either a large floating drydock or graving dock once afloat,' 38 North said. 'However, Chongjin's shipyard does not offer this infrastructure.' The east coast shipyard has turned out primarily cargo and fishing vessels and lacks significant expertise in launching large warships such as the new destroyer, other military experts have said.
