The “North Korean Waikiki”, the new seaside resort in North Korea

North Korea inaugurated a large tourist area on its east coast, the state media announced on Wednesday, and a group of Russian tourists should settle down there next week.

Nicknamed the “North Korean Waikiki” by the South Korean media, the Wonsan-Kalma site can accommodate nearly 20,000 people, according to Pyongyang, which previously described it as “a world-class cultural station”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has shown great interest in the local tourism industry during its early years in power, the development of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area representing a key project.

The seaside resort was opened to North Korean tourists on Tuesday, the official KCNA agency reported the next day, with images showing smiling families in colored swimsuits enjoying the beach.

North Koreans of all ages, from all over the country, flocked to the site this week, “filled with joy at the idea of ​​discovering a new level of civilization”, praised KCNA.

The visitors were “amazed by the greatness and the splendor of the tourist town, where more than 400 (…) artistically designed buildings border the white sand beach in an ideal harmony”, describes the same source.

According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, a group of Russian tourists should visit the seaside resort for the first time on July 7.

The South Korean Ministry of Unification, which oversees relations with North Korea, also said that the activities of the site “should extend gradually”, including Russian tourists.

Kim Jong-Un said last week that the construction of the site would be considered “one of the greatest successes of this year” and that North Korea would built other large-scale tourist areas “as soon as possible”.

However, given the limited air capacity of the country, international tourism to the new seaside resort “will probably remain low -scale”, according to the ministry.

“Tourists will go through Pyongyang and the number of visitors could be limited to around 170 people a day,” he said.

Pyongyang attaches great importance to tourism which he considers an essential source of foreign currencies, underlines the ministry, and North Korea may have received material support from Russia for engaging in the war in Ukraine.