North Korea has made a key move to increase the country's tourism with the opening of a massive beach resort.
According to state media, Kim Jong Un expressed hopes that the new resort will boost tourism and will prove to be a successful means of attracting much-needed foreign currency.
The Wonsan Kalma on the east coast will open its gates to domestic tourists on July 1, six years after it was due to be completed.
Kim has an emotional connection with Wonsan, as he grew up in the city, where many of the communist regime's elite have private villas.
State media KCNA claimed that the resort can accommodate around 20,000 visitors, occupying a 4 km stretch of beach with hotels, shopping malls, restaurants and a water park.
Heavily sanctioned for decades for its nuclear weapons programme, North Korea is among the poorest countries in the world.
It pours most of its resources into its military, monuments and landmarks, often in Pyongyang.
The beach resort was first announced in 2014, and construction started in 2018, with an initial finish deadline of 2019.
However, the project came to a standstill during the 2020 COVID pandemic as the country sealed its borders while international sanctions and material supply issues worsened delays.
Overall, tourism from overseas took a hit during the pandemic in the overly secretive state.
North Korea kept its gates closed for international visitors until the middle of 2023 and welcomed Russian visitors a year later.
