Kim cut the ribbon in the week to Wonsan-Kalma, a special zone dedicated to tourists in a protected bay on the east coast, according to the hard-governed country's state media.
In news agency images, he looks out over hotels, water parks and a long sandy beach.
One of the greatest successes this year, said the leader, according to the state propaganda organ KCNA, and spoke further about the project as "the proud first step" in a effort to develop tourism in the otherwise closed North Korea.
Wonsan-Kalma is said to open for domestic visitors on Tuesday next week. But western experts say that the tourist resort, which is supposed to have room for 20,000 guests, will not work with only North Korean guests.
Military cooperation
The question is then which foreigners will be attracted there. After the closed borders during the pandemic, it has so far only been Russian package tours that have been allowed to North Korea, from and including February last year.
This has gone hand in hand with an increased military cooperation between the countries, where Kim Jong-Un's colleague Vladimir Putin has needed reinforcements for his war of attack in Ukraine.
And even tourism seems to continue to strengthen. This week, the first direct trains between the capitals Moscow and Pyongyang after the pandemic have arrived, reports the state-controlled Russian news agency Tass. With over eight days of travel time, and more than 6,000 kilometers, the route is described as the world's longest.
Lee Sangkeun at the state-controlled South Korean think tank INSS says to the news agency AP that Russians are likely to soon be able to go on sun holidays to Wonsan-Kalma.
”Fairy-tale opportunities”
As for North Korea's other major neighbor, it is more unclear.
It seems that there are issues that North Korea has not yet resolved in the relationship with China. But the country has put too much money on tourism, and plans even more – to get value for money, they cannot in the long run resist Chinese tourists.
When Westerners can be considered welcome again is written in the stars, despite the fact that the US President Donald Trump has signaled that he wants to resume the good relations he had with Kim Jong-Un during his previous term.
I think he has fairy-tale opportunities for holiday accommodations, said Trump last winter about Kim's grand plans for tourism.
He has a lot of coast.
