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North Korea wants to be a tourist destination, is building beach resort: Report
The North Korean leader believes that the site could serve as a tourist destination for foreign travelers, primarily those in European countries.
North Korea is planning to become a popular tourist destination among foreigners as it is resuming construction on the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone, UK-based newspaper Metro reported. The plan is to make a tourist destination like Benidorm in Spain that boasts of beaches, skyscrapers and hotels. The report claimed that Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone project was originally slated for completion by mid-2018 near Wonson, a port city on North Korea's eastern coast.
The construction was however delayed owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, it added.
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Earlier this year, the construction site was inhabited by homeless population of the country and it was covered in human waste and soot from fires, North Korea newspaper Daily NK reported. But Kim Jong Un has big plans for the site, which could see construction be completed as soon as 2025. The North Korean leader believes that the site could serve as a tourist destination for foreign travelers, primarily those in European countries.
Travel bans in North Korea
Travelling to North Korea is tough as bans prevent interested travelers from visiting the country. US citizens have long been urged not to travel to North Korea as it poses a "continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of US nationals," as per a travel advisory by the US Department of State website in July this year. Other countries like the UK have also urged their citizens to exercise caution.
UK's foreign, commonwealth and development office (FCDO) wrote on its website, "No entry into North Korea is permitted while COVID-19 border restrictions remain in place. The North Korean government continues to temporarily suspend all passenger routes into and out of North Korea. The British Embassy in Pyongyang is temporarily closed due to these restrictions. This means you cannot get consular support from within North Korea."
