North Korea closes beach resort to foreigners after suspicions of fake tourists

North Korea has banned foreign tourists from entering the newly built Wonsan Calma resort on its east coast, which was supposed to be part of North Korean leader Kim Jong-unʼs plan to develop tourism in the country and "one of the biggest successes of 2025".

This is reported by the AP.

The DPR Korea Tour website, run by North Koreaʼs tourism department, said the Wonsan Kalma tourist complex was temporarily closing to foreign tourists. There were no details or explanations for the reason. It is also unclear how long the ban will last.

Pyongyang claims the resort can accommodate nearly 20 000 tourists. Wonsan Calma opened to North Korean tourists on July 1 and last week welcomed a small group of Russian tourists. The DPRK had been expected to open the resort to Chinese tourists. So far, that has not happened.

The ban came after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited North Korea, where he met with Kim Jong Un and North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Song Hui. Lavrov promised to support Russian touristsʼ trips to North Korea.

However, experts believe that the DPRK authorities decided to restrict access to foreigners because of an article by a Russian journalist that implied that the "tourists" at the resort were mobilized by the authorities, rather than real vacationers.

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