The project has stalled since 2020 and is reportedly occupied by homeless people (Picture: KCNA)
Kim Jong-un has ordered his officials to rescue his flailing project for a Benidorm-style holiday resort on North Korea’s coast.
Construction for a sprawling complex complete with water parks, hotels and an airfield began near the western port city of Wonsan in 2017.
The project was launched after a delegation of North Korean bureaucrats visited Spain’s Costa Blanca, which reportedly left them ‘fascinated’ and ‘impressed’.
Kim’s government insisted the glamorously-named Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone would be complete by mid-2018.
But the ambitious deadline was repeatedly pushed back and construction ground to a halt during the pandemic.
In February this year the site was said to be completely derelict and overrun with ‘kkotjebi’, a North Korean term referring to the country’s large population of itinerant homeless people.
A local source told Daily NK, a newspaper based in South Korea: ‘Buildings without doors have become gathering points for kkotjebi, and now they’re full of human waste and soot from fires. And who’s going to clean all that up?’
Kim Jong-un grins during an inspection of the site in 2018 (Picture: Reuters)
An unnamed individual with knowledge of North Korean government communications has since revealed plans to restart construction.
The source told the newspaper that the government’s trade officials have been ordered to buy up enough materials from abroad in order to finish the resort.
The purchases would only be carried out next year, so it’s unlikely to be finished until at least 2025.
If North Korea lifts its longstanding Covid-related travel ban by then, foreigners – including people from the UK, will be able to visit.
The nearest water park is Songdowon International Children’s Camp in Wonsan (Picture: REUTERS)
James Finnerty, of Lupine Travel, which runs tours to North Korea, says Wonsan is not ‘quite what people imagine’ and is ‘a little more relaxed’ than the capital Pyongyang.
The UK Foreign Office advises against ‘all but essential travel’ to North Korea, saying the ‘security situation can change quickly with no advance warning about possible actions by the authorities’.
North Korea expert Michael Madden told The Sun: ‘Provided the Foreign Office does not have such restrictions, if the Wonsan Kalma resort is complete and the DPRK resumes issuing tourist visas then, yes, UK tourists will be able to visit the resort.
‘It is safe to assume that some North Korean tourism companies will market specialist tours of the country’s beaches.’
The resort is unlikely to be opened for at least two years (Picture: Reuters)
North Korea expert Jacob Bogle, who has created a comprehensive map of the country from satellite photos, previously said extensive work still needs to be done.
He said: ‘All of the hotels and other buildings have been constructed, but work on finishing the exteriors – windows, paint, lighting – and interiors is nowhere near completed.’
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