North Korea has announced a sudden prohibition of foreign access to its newly opened coastal complex, the coastal tourist area of Wonsan Kalma, despite the previous promotions aimed at international visitors.
The complex, which was officially inaugurated on July 1, had been widely promoted as an cornerstone of the Kim Jong leader's vision to boost tourism and economic development in the lonely state.
Promoted as a luxurious coastal getaway for locals and foreigners, the Wonsan complex has a 4 km beach full of hotels, restaurants, shopping centers and an aquatic park, with a reported capacity of up to 20,000 guests.
However, a notice on the official tourism website of North Korea now states that foreign tourists are “temporarily” to visit the newly opened site. The announcement occurs 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 one in Wonsan last week.
Lavrov praised the complex, describing it as a “good tourist attraction” and expressed hope that it would become a favorite destination for Russian travelers. The reports indicate that both countries plan to launch direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang at the end of July, and Russian tour operators had scheduled several additional trips to the complex.
Wonsan, located along the east coast of North Korea, is a strategic site that houses key missile facilities and elite residences, including villas where Kim Jong supposedly a much of his youth passed.
Although the complex has been held by the state media of North Korea, human rights groups have expressed concerns about alleged labor abuses during their development. Since the construction began in 2018, there have been statements that workers have been submitted to exhausting hours in hard conditions with little compensation.
The resort termination ceremony on June 24 attended Russian diplomats, as well as Kim Jong a and members of his family, underlining the political and diplomatic importance of the project.
Although North Korea reopened its borders to Russian tourists in 2023 after a long prohibition of COVID-19 tourism, its position on Western visitors has been inconsistent. In February 2025, the entry of limited tourism groups of Australia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom was allowed, only for the program to be suspended again weeks later without explanation.
The reasons behind the latest restrictions in the Wonsan complex are still clear.
Read too Main stories OF Nigerian tribe