•Seaside resort in North Korea
North Korea has announced a sudden ban on foreign access to its newly inaugurated seaside resort, the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, despite earlier promotions targeting international visitors.
The resort, which officially opened on July 1, had been widely touted as a cornerstone of leader Kim Jong Un’s vision to boost tourism and economic development in the reclusive state, reports AFP.
Promoted as a luxurious coastal getaway for both locals and foreigners, the Wonsan resort boasts a 4km beachfront lined with hotels, restaurants, shopping malls, and a water park, with a reported capacity of up to 20,000 guests.
However, a notice on North Korea’s official tourism website now states that foreign tourists are “temporarily” barred from visiting the newly opened site.
The announcement comes shortly after the arrival of the first group of Russian tourists, and a high-profile visit by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who met with Kim Jong Un in Wonsan last week.
Lavrov praised the resort, describing it as a “good tourist attraction” and expressed hope that it would become a favourite destination for Russian travellers.
Reports indicate that both countries plan to launch direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang by the end of July, and Russian tour operators had scheduled several additional trips to the resort.
Wonsan, located along North Korea’s east coast, is a strategic site that houses key missile facilities and elite residences, including villas where Kim Jong Un reportedly spent much of his youth.
While the resort has been celebrated by North Korean state media, human rights groups have raised concerns about alleged labour abuses during its development.
Since construction began in 2018, there have been claims of workers being subjected to gruelling hours under harsh conditions with little compensation.
The resort’s completion ceremony on June 24 was attended by Russian diplomats as well as Kim Jong Un and members of his family, underlining the political and diplomatic significance of the project.
Although North Korea reopened its borders to Russian tourists in 2023 after a prolonged COVID-19 tourism ban, its stance on Western visitors has been inconsistent. In February 2025, limited tourist groups from Australia, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom were allowed entry, only for the programme to be suspended again weeks later without explanation.
The reasons behind the latest restrictions on the Wonsan resort remain unclear.
