N. Korea opens new beach resort hoping to remake eastern coast into tourism hub

North Korea unveiled a new beach in Tongchon County, roughly 50 kilometers south of the recently launched Wonsan-Kalma coastal resort, state media reported Thursday — a move analysts view as part of Pyongyang’s broader campaign to reinvent the country’s eastern seaboard as a tourism hub. Years of stringent international sanctions, aimed at curtailing its weapons programs, have left North Korea severely short of hard currency. This has crippled legitimate trade, forcing Pyongyang to increasingly rely on illicit revenue streams, including cyber theft. Curiously, tourism remains one of the few sectors not explicitly banned by United Nations sanctions, a loophole the isolated nation has actively tried to exploit by developing resorts and seeking foreign visitors to generate much-needed funds. Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, reported that an opening ceremony was held Wednesday for the new beach in Tongchon. The article framed the facility as a product of the “motherly party’s loving care,” underscoring the regime’s continued efforts to proWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times