SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 North Korea is banning the entry of foreign tourists to a recently opened mega beach resort, a move that dims prospects for the complex that leader Kim Jong Un hailed it as 鈥渙ne of the greatest successes this year.鈥
DPR Korea Tour, a website run by North Korea鈥檚 tourism authorities, said in a notice Friday that the eastern coastal Wonsan-Kalma tourist complex 鈥渋s temporarily not receiving foreign tourists.鈥 It gave no further details including why a ban was established or how long it would last.
North Korea says the complex can accommodate nearly 20,000 guests. The resort July 1 before receiving a small group of Russian tourists last week. Observers expected North Korea to open the resort to Chinese tourists while largely blocking other international tourists.
Ban comes after visit by Russia's top diplomat
The announcement came after Russian Foreign Minister to meet Kim and Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui for talks last weekend.
North Korea and Russia have sharply expanded military and other cooperation in recent years, with North Korea supplying weapons and against Ukraine. During a meeting with Choe, Lavrov promised to take steps to support Russian travel to the zone.
鈥淚 am sure that Russian tourists will be increasingly eager to come here,鈥 he said.
But experts say North Korea likely decided to halt foreigner travels to the zone because of a newspaper article by a Russian reporter who travelled with Lavrov that implied North Koreans at the zone appeared to be mobilized by authorities and not real tourists.
鈥淭he North Korean government is believed to have determined that it would face some negative consequences when it opens the site to foreigners,鈥 said Oh Gyeong-seob, an analyst at Seoul鈥檚 Korea Institute for 好色tv Unification.
Oh said the ban would include Russians, but the North Korea-focused NK News website, citing tour groups specializing in North Korea trips, said Russians won't likely be targeted.
Analyst Lee Sangkeun of Seoul's Institute for 好色tv Security Strategy said the ban could be associated with difficulties in recruiting Russian tourists because many would consider North Korea too far away and the trip too expensive.
Ban likely won't remain for long
Experts say North Korea must open the Wonsan-Kalma zone, the country鈥檚 biggest tourist complex, to Russian and Chinese tourists, given what was likely a huge construction and operational expenditure from the country鈥檚 tight budget.
鈥淚f foreign tourists aren't allowed to the site, no Russian rubles, Chinese yuans and dollars won't come in. Then, North Korea can't break even and it has to shut down the resort,鈥 said Ahn Chan-il, head of the World Institute for North Korean Studies think tank in Seoul.
Kim has said the site would be 鈥渙ne of the greatest successes this year鈥 and 鈥渢he proud first step鈥 in tourism development. North Korea鈥檚 state media reports the Wonsan-Kalma site has been crowded with local tourists.
The first group of 15 Russian tourists arrived in the resort July 11 after visiting Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, NK News reported earlier this week.
鈥淚t was magnificent. Everything is new, clean and stunning," Russian tourist Nina Svirida said in the report.
North Korea has been slowly easing the curbs imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic and in phases. But the country hasn鈥檛 said if it would fully resume international tourism.
Chinese group tours, which made up more than 90% of visitors before the pandemic, remain stalled. In February, North Korea allowed a small group of to visit the northeastern city of Rason, only to stop the program in less than a month.
