North Korea is set to unveil a significant coastal tourist destination that is anticipated to mark a transformative moment for its tourism sector, without specifying when the country will be fully accessible to international tourists.
The Wonsan-Kalma beach resort boasts facilities designed to accommodate nearly 20,000 guests. Visitors have access to seaside swimming, an array of sports and recreational activities, and a variety of dining options including restaurants and cafeterias conveniently located on the grounds, as reported by the nation’s state media.
In a ceremonial event held on Tuesday, North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, conducted a tour of the new site and officially inaugurated it by cutting a ribbon, per reports from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). Kim highlighted the project’s completion as a major achievement for the year, describing it as an auspicious beginning for the government’s tourism advancement aspirations.
Initially, the Wonsan-Kalma resort will welcome local tourists. It is recognized as the largest tourist facility in North Korea to date. The KCNA clarified that starting next Tuesday, local tourists will be able to experience the site. While a timeline for when international tourists can visit has not been provided, later on Thursday, Russian officials announced that a scheduled Russian tour will take place in July.
Analysts indicate that the resort likely demanded substantial financial input from North Korea’s constrained budget, and therefore, attracting Chinese and other international tourists eventually will be essential to achieve financial sustainability.
In his drive to transform North Korea into a hub for tourism as part of economic revitalization efforts, Kim has prioritized the development of the Wonsan-Kalma site. Additionally, KCNA mentions forthcoming plans to develop large-scale tourist ventures in other regions of the nation.
Despite these developments, North Korea has yet to completely lift restrictions on foreign tourists—limitations initially set in 2020 as a safeguard against COVID-19. Delays in reopening international tourism are attributed by experts to ongoing pandemic measures, recent incidents of heightened tensions with the United States and South Korea, and concerns over potential adverse impressions from Western visitors.
The proximity of Russia’s Primorsky region to North Korea positions it as the starting point for Russian tourists, who are scheduled for an inaugural visit to the resort departing on July 7. During their eight-day journey, they will have the opportunity to explore significant landmarks in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, based on reports from the Russian state agency Tass.
From February 2024, North Korea has begun hosting Russian tourists in other areas while fostering strengthened military and collaborative relations between the two countries. However, group tours from China, constituting a significant portion of visitors before the pandemic, remain on hold.
February saw the return of a small group of international tourists to North Korea after a five-year absence, although travel agencies reported a subsequent pause in organized tours by March.
Kim Jong Un’s recent foreign policy efforts appear to prioritize strengthening connections with Russia by providing troops and traditional weapons, reciprocated by economic and military aid. Nevertheless, North Korea’s historically significant relations with China, identifying it as a major trade and aid partner, seem to have waned, potentially due to China’s hesitance in joining a North Korea-Russia alignment against Western powers.
The Tuesday ceremony celebrating the completion of the Wonsan-Kalma resort garnered the attendance of the Russian ambassador to North Korea and his diplomatic staff, per KCNA. However, there was no confirmation of Chinese diplomatic participation.
“There appear to be unresolved issues in North Korea’s rapport with China. Regardless, North Korea has invested heavily in tourism infrastructure and will inevitably need to accept Chinese tourists to ensure returns on its investments,” stated Lee Sangkeun, an expert at South Korea’s Institute for National Security Strategy.
Echoing similar sentiments, Lim Eul-chul, from the Kyungnam University’s Institute for Far Eastern Studies in Seoul, anticipates that Russian visitors will initiate foreign tourism to the Wonsan-Kalma site, with ease of access for Chinese tourists expected to follow as bilateral trade reinitiates between China and North Korea.
On the other hand, U.S. and South Korean tourist visits to North Korea currently hold low prospects for resumption in the near future despite expressed interest by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and former U.S. President Donald Trump to rekindle dialogue with North Korea.
Earlier this year, Trump lauded his relationship with Kim, commenting on North Korea’s “tremendous condo capabilities” along its extensive coastline, presumably referencing the Wonsan-Kalma development. However, North Korea has not publicly acknowledged Trump’s overtures. Instead, it continues to shun dialogue proposals from Washington and Seoul, directed towards fortifying its nuclear arms program since the breakdown of nuclear talks with Trump in 2019.