By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-06-26 05:21:52 | Updated at 2026-06-26 07:16:03
2 hours ago
SEOUL – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected a new train station at a beach resort on the country’s east coast, weeks after Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged deeper tourism ties between the two countries.
Kim praised workers for their efforts in building a modern railway station in one year, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on June 26.
The country’s leader chose the site to help passengers visit the Wonsan Kalma area, it added.
The beach resort is a pet project of Kim, who has a private mansion in the area.
Wonsan also features about 7,000 guest rooms in luxury hotels and private villas, as well as an outdoor waterpark and an airport, according to state media.
During the inspection that took place on June 24, Kim also visited a new first-aid post and said North Korea will build modern hospitals in 20 cities and counties every year, KCNA reported.
Kim’s inspection comes weeks after China’s Xi travelled to Pyongyang for his first visit in seven years and vowed to expand China’s trade, agriculture and technology cooperation with North Korea.
Tourism is a key cash source for the sanctions-hit Kim regime but the country has been allowing only a trickle of inbound tourists since it began easing border restrictions.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, some 100,000 Chinese people visited North Korea each year, representing the largest group of foreign visitors.
A day after the resort visit, Kim supervised tests of multiple weapons systems including a multiple rocket launcher, self-propelled gun-howitzer and tactical ballistic missile, KCNA said.
Kim said North Korea’s policy on self-defence is for “further strengthening the deadly and destructive offensive posture to make no enemy dare to confront.” BLOOMBERG
