The world's most mysterious country opens a luxury resort for 20,000 guests

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally cut the ribbon to inaugurate a lavish new resort that state media has hailed as a 'national-level tourist city'.

According to North Korea's official KCNA news agency, Mr. Kim opened the vast Wonsan-Kalma coastal resort with water parks, high-rise hotels and accommodations for nearly 20,000 guests, a show of high-class tourism in one of the world's most secretive countries.

Wonsan-Kalma, which opened on June 24, is located on North Korea's east coast. KCNA reported that "services for domestic tourists will begin on July 1."

The magnificence of Kalma resort - PHOTO: KCNA

Earlier this month, North Korea announced the opening of the Kalma train station, which was built to “ensure a high level of convenience for visitors to the coastal tourist area.” The Kalma beach resort is located next to the international airport, another sign that the project is aimed at attracting foreign currency.

International presence at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was limited to Russian ambassadors and staff.

Last year, a small group of Russian tourists visited North Korea for a three-day ski vacation at the Maskiryong resort, a long-standing tourist attraction since it opened in December 2013. These activities, like all other tourist experiences in North Korea, are closely monitored and controlled by the government .

Many visitors told CNN they were subject to strict rules about what they could and could not photograph; were allowed to watch a dance performance choreographed by North Korean children, among other outdoor activities.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inside the resort - PHOTO: KCNA

“Wonsan-Kalma is currently open only to North Koreans, but could see Russians in the not-too-distant future,” said Rachel Minyoung Lee, a nonresident fellow with the 38 North program at the Stimson Center.

North Korea's most notable experiment with international tourism came in the late 1990s, when it opened the scenic Mount Kumgang area on its southeast coast to visitors from South Korea.

The project has been hailed as a rare symbol of inter-Korean engagement during a period of cautious rapprochement.

Nearly 2 million South Koreans visited the site over the next decade, providing Pyongyang with a vital source of foreign currency. However, the initiative came to an abrupt halt in 2008, after a North Korean soldier shot dead a South Korean tourist who was believed to have strayed into a restricted military zone, prompting Seoul to suspend tours indefinitely.

A central question surrounding the newly opened resort is whether one of the world's most secretive countries is ready to make a bigger foray into international tourism?

The resort will be mainly for domestic tourists, besides Russian guests - PHOTO: NK NEWS

So far, Russians appear to be the only foreign tourists allowed into the beach resort. Vladivostok-based tour operator Vostok Intur is promoting three packages – one in July and two in August – priced at around $1,840.

The first tour is scheduled to begin on July 7 and will last eight days, according to the company's website. Visitors will fly from Pyongyang to Wonsan, spend four nights in Kalma, and visit the nearby Masikryong Ski Resort.

During the opening ceremony, Mr. Kim noted that the lessons learned at Kalma will be used to develop “promising large-scale cultural and tourist areas” in other parts of the country…

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dat-nuoc-bi-an-nhat-the-gioi-mo-cua-khu-nghi-duong-xa-hoa-20000-khach-185250629074908707.htm