Kim Jong Un hopes North Korea beach resort will support tourism when it opens on Jul. 1

North Korea will open a new beach resort on its east coast.

The Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone was showcased by state media KCNA on Jun. 26.

According to the BBC, the resort was supposed to open six years ago.

It will open to domestic tourists from Jul. 1, 2025.

No date has been announced regarding when foreign tourists can visit.

Kim Jong Un attends the completion ceremony

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the resort with his daughter Kim Ju Ae and wife Ri Sol Ju during a ceremony commemorating its completion on Jun. 24.

This was also Ri's first public appearance since a New Year's Day event back in 2024.

Russian ambassador Alexander Matsegora and embassy staff were also in attendance.

What's at the beach resort

According to North Korea's state news agency KCNA, the resort should be able to accommodate up to 20,000 people.

KCNA also claimed that the resort will occupy a 4km stretch of the beach and feature restaurants, a water park, hotels, and shopping malls.

KCNA said:

"Kim Jong Un expressed belief that the wave of happiness to be raised in the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area would enhance its attractive name as a world-level tourist cultural resort."

According to international press, however, observers have noted that the resort had likely used a large investment from the state's limited budget and will thus have to welcome international visitors to break even.

According to the BBC, the supreme leader had spent his early years in Wonsan, where many of the country's upper class stay in private villas and where a missile testing site was once located.

He hopes that by developing Wonsan and introducing the beach resort, it will help boost tourism.

North Korea's tourism

Five years after the country closed to foreign tourists due to the Covid-19 pandemic, North Korea began allowing travellers again in December 2024, according to the BBC.

Singapore tour agencies have also been preparing for group trips to North Korea for the first time in five years.

However, MFA issued a warning, which still stands, to Singaporeans against travelling to North Korea back in September 2019:

"The situation in North Korea remains unpredictable. Singaporeans should avoid all non-essential travel to North Korea. Singaporeans who visit North Korea should be aware of the risks of inadvertently violating the relevant United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions and Singapore's corresponding laws, which remain in place."

Top image from AFP.