Images show Kim Jong Un lounging poolside with daughter as he opens new beach resort
Kim toured the country's new biggest tourist site - the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone - which is set to open next week
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was seen smiling and soaking up the sun poolside as he toured a new beach resort which he hopes will boost tourism.
Kim toured the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone on Tuesday and cut the inaugural tape, the Korean Central News Agency reported. It’s the country’s biggest tourist site.
Images released by the outlet showed Kim and his young daughter Kim Ju-ae lounging poolside at a water park within the site. Others show the pair at the beach.
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Kim hailed the project as “one of the greatest successes this year” and described the site as “the proud first step” toward developing tourism, KCNA reported.
The resort includes hotels and other accommodations for nearly 20,000 guests who can swim at the beach and eat at restaurants on site, state media said.
The site is due to open to domestic tourists in July. Russian officials said that the first Russian tour to the site will also take place next month.
The country is still yet to fully reopen its borders to foreign tourists after closing them in 2020 during the covid pandemic.
In February, a small group of Russian tourists became the first international travelers to visit the country since borders closed.
Tourist agencies said in March that their tours to North Korea were paused.
Chinese tourists, which made up more than 90 percent of visitors before the pandemic, are still barred from the country.
In 2019, a record 300,000 foreign tourists visited North Korea, earning the country between $90 million and $150 million, according to experts.
