North Korea’s Wonsan Kalma beach resort appears to have largely stopped hosting domestic group tours, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, after only around seven weeks of operation.

Planet Labs imagery shows the two main bus parking lots, located at the north and south ends of the sprawling resort zone, started to appear empty at the end of August, indicating official tours had mostly ended. 

Small boats still appeared to be zooming around off the coast through Sept. 18, suggesting the activity is a main draw for the limited remaining visitors, while state media has reported on art and cooking expos taking place for small numbers of guests at resort venues in the last week.

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un hosted an opening ceremony for the resort on June 24, framing the tourism zone as a gift for all North Koreans to enjoy. Imagery shows the parking lots started to fill up to capacity a couple weeks later, between July 10 and 12, and that they stayed full until the end of August. 

State media initially reported that the resort can host up to 20,000 people, and later doubled the number to 40,000 visitors per day. However, NK Pro previously found that most hotels were not finished by the time of the official opening, suggesting the whole Wonsan Kalma tourist zone did not operate at full capacity this summer.

While authorities have not released statistics about the total number of visitors so far, the Rodong Sinmun claimed in mid-August that “hundreds of thousands of people” had visited in the first 40 days of operation. 

Considering that the main parking lots were full for only around 50 days in total, it is likely that only a few hundred thousand people at most were privileged enough to be invited to the resort in its first summer season of operation.

This is despite the Rodong Sinmun reporting in July that some guests were planning on returning next year, implying that it would be possible for all citizens to visit the resort at least once per year.

State media has featured testimonies and imagery of the first batch of guests in hopes of convincing citizens their daily sacrifices and mobilization for the state will be rewarded with free trips to the beach.

In addition to domestic visitors, a small number of Russian tour groups were invited to Wonsan Kalma during its first season, but authorities have so far prohibited foreign tourists from other countries. State media has also hinted that more foreigners will be invited in the future.

The resort will likely remain open to paying North Korean elite throughout the winter down season, given its extensive luxury-oriented facilities. Ordinary domestic tour groups appear to have mainly stayed only in the lower-tier “hostels” so far, according to NK Pro analysis of state media coverage. 

State-sponsored excursions for certain worker or student groups could also include Wonsan Kalma on combined trips to the nearby Masikryong ski resort.

Edited by Alannah Hill