North Korea bans foreign tourists to newly opened beach resort

North Korea is banning the entry of foreign tourists to a recently opened mega beach resort, a move that dims prospects for the complex that leader Kim Jong Un hailed it as “one of the greatest successes this year.”

DPR Korea Tour, a website run by North Korea’s tourism authorities, said in a notice Friday that the eastern coastal Wonsan-Kalma tourist complex “is temporarily not receiving foreign tourists.”

It gave no further details including why a ban was established or how long it would last.

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North Korea says the complex can accommodate nearly 20,000 guests.

The resort opened to domestic tourists on July 1 before receiving a small group of Russian tourists last week.

Observers expected North Korea to open the resort to Chinese tourists while largely blocking other international tourists.

Ban comes after visit by Russia's top diplomat

The announcement came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov flew to the complex to meet Kim and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui for talks last weekend.

North Korea and Russia have sharply expanded military and other cooperation in recent years, with North Korea supplying weapons and troops to back Russia’s war against Ukraine.

During a meeting with Choe, Lavrov promised to take steps to support Russian travel to the zone.

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“I am sure that Russian tourists will be increasingly eager to come here,” he said.

But experts say North Korea likely decided to halt foreigner travels to the zone because of a newspaper article by a Russian reporter who travelled with Lavrov that implied North Koreans at the zone appeared to be mobilised by authorities and not real tourists.

“The North Korean government is believed to have determined that it would face some negative consequences when it opens the site to foreigners,” said Oh Gyeong-seob, an analyst at Seoul’s Korea Institute for National Unification.

Oh said the ban would include Russians, but the North Korea-focused NK News website, citing tour groups specialising in North Korea trips, said Russians won't likely be targeted.

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Analyst Lee Sangkeun of Seoul's Institute for National Security Strategy said the ban could be associated with difficulties in recruiting Russian tourists because many would consider North Korea too far away and the trip too expensive.

Ban likely won't remain for long

Experts say North Korea must open the Wonsan-Kalma zone, the country’s biggest tourist complex, to Russian and Chinese tourists, given what was likely a huge construction and operational expenditure from the country’s tight budget.

“If foreign tourists aren't allowed to the site, no Russian rubles, Chinese yuans and dollars won't come in, then, North Korea can't break even and it has to shut down the resort,” said Ahn Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korean Studies think tank in Seoul.

Kim has said the site would be “one of the greatest successes this year” and “the proud first step” in tourism development.

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North Korea’s state media reports the Wonsan-Kalma site has been crowded with local tourists.

The first group of 15 Russian tourists arrived in the resort July 11 after visiting Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, NK News reported earlier this week.

“It was magnificent. Everything is new, clean and stunning," Russian tourist Nina Svirida said in the report.

North Korea has been slowly easing the curbs imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and reopening its borders in phases.

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But the country hasn’t said if it would fully resume international tourism.

Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90 per cent of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled.

In February, North Korea allowed a small group of international tourists to visit the north eastern city of Rason, only to stop the program in less than a month.