By Choe Sang-Hun
A new waterfront resort opened for business this week in North Korea with P.R. hype 鈥 but without the foreign visitors that the country鈥檚 leader, Kim Jong-un, hoped would one day arrive with tourist cash to offset financially punishing sanctions.
On Thursday, state media reported on North Korean families crowding a 2.5-mile-long scenic sandy beach on its central east coast, which began accepting tourists two days earlier. 鈥淭he joy and optimism of the tourists were overflowing everywhere, and the song of happiness resounded in the windows of bright lodgings,鈥 the North鈥檚 official Korean Central News Agency said.
The resort, which is called Wonsan Kalma and can accommodate 20,000 people, is the most ambitious among the seafront or mountainside spa and ski resorts Mr. Kim has been building to attract foreign tourists. Mr. Kim, his wife and his daughter attended a ceremony in late June marking the completion of the 鈥媐acility.
Mr. Kim began promoting tourism after the United Nations imposed severe sanctions in 2017 that banned all of 鈥媓is country鈥檚 main exports, including coal and textiles. The sanctions were designed to strip North Korea of the means 鈥媜f earn鈥媔ng foreign currency to finance its nuclear and missile programs. But they did not affect tourism, which Mr. Kim saw as a new source of sorely needed foreign currency.