North Korea bans foreign tourists to newly opened beach resort

Seoul: North Korea is suspending 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 “one of the greatest successes this year”.

DPR Korea Tour, a website run by North Korea’s tourism authorities, said in a notice Wednesday that the eastern coastal Wonsan-Kalma tourist complex “is temporarily not receiving foreign tourists”.

It gave no further details including why a ban was established. North Korea says the complex can accommodate nearly 20,000 guests. The resort opened to domestic tourists July 1 before receiving a small group of Russian tourists

ast week. Observers expected North Korea to open the resort to Chinese tourists while largely blocking other international tourists.The announcement came after Russian Foreign Minister flew to the complex to meet Kim for talks last weekend.