Dressed in an oversized suit, seated on a large cushion on a small metal folding chair next to a table with a pack of cigarettes, an ashtray, and a soft drink, Kim Jong-un watched from the front row as a man slid down a slide into a pool. To the right of the Supreme Leader of North Korea, in lower plastic chairs without cushions, sat his daughter, Kim Ju-ae, the presumed heir, and his wife, Ri Sol-ju, who had not been seen in public for almost a year.
The photo was taken on Tuesday during a family visit to inaugurate a new mega resort on the east coast of North Korea. For the occasion, Kim ditched his austere gray Mao collar suit that he usually wears to oversee ballistic missile launches. In addition to witnessing a pool slide demonstration, the leader strolled along a beach and visited some hotels in this tourist complex.
Wonsan Kalma is the new Marina d'Or of the North Korean regime. "It is one of the greatest achievements of this year," Kim boasted in a statement reported by the state agency KCNA, which published family photos on Thursday. "It will play a key role in establishing the tourism culture of the country," he emphasized.
The tourist complex was inspired by Spain. In 2017, about twenty North Korean officials visited the Levantine coast and toured several luxury resorts on the Mediterranean. They also took note of theme parks like Terra Mítica.
The spa (initially dubbed the "Benidorm of North Korea" by the British press when construction began) was supposed to be ready by 2020. However, the pandemic halted all construction, turning the promising tourist paradise into a gray landscape filled with abandoned buildings that, as reported by the Daily NK, a South Korea-based newspaper monitoring everything happening in the hermit neighbor to the North, had become a refuge for many homeless individuals.
After finally cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony, a jubilant Kim stated that the project had become a "brilliant reality" after more than a decade of work. In most of the images released, Kim's daughter always appears by his side, believed to be 12 years old and having accompanied her father to numerous events, even missile tests, since Pyongyang decided to showcase her existence to the world in 2022.
The regime has stated that the spa, which also features sports facilities and shopping centers, expects to receive over 20,000 tourists annually. However, the country remains tightly closed to foreign visitors.
The border briefly opened earlier this year but closed again after just a month. In April, there was an exceptional hint of opening with a marathon in the capital where 200 foreign runners, mostly from Russia and Ethiopia, were invited. However, it seems that the North Korean regime continues to forgo foreign tourism, which has always been one of the few legal channels through which it could obtain foreign currency.
In February, for the first time since the pandemic closures, North Korea allowed a small diverse international group of 13 tourists to enter. Previously, only a few Russian visitors had been permitted. While Kim Jong-un strengthened his support for Vladimir Putin by selling him weapons and ammunition for the war in Ukraine, planes took off from Vladivostok in the Russian Far East in 2024, stopping in Pyongyang and at a luxurious ski resort on the country's east coast.
Russians who have been able to travel to North Korea purchased a travel package that included a round-trip flight to the North Korean capital for $750. This package also covered transportation, accommodation, and full board at the ski resort, where the entry pass cost an additional $40 per day.