Swimming at beach in N. Korea’s Wonsan-Kalma tourist area North Korean people play on a beach at the Wonsan-Kalma tourist area on the North’s east coast on July 1, 2025, as the newly built resort area known for its beautiful seaside scenery opens the same day, in this photo released by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the next day. (Yonhap)
Here is the latest reading of the tea leaves in regards to North Korea denuclearization talks:
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said there would be a “major rebuild” of North Korea at some point, and he referred to some “very interesting information” he recently obtained in regard to the country.
It was unclear whether the remark, delivered near the end of a cabinet meeting, alluded to some progress in Washington’s stalled denuclearization negotiations with Pyongyang or whether it could be another of Trump’s idiosyncratic ideas of striking an ultimate deal with the regime.
You can read more at the link, but apparently an offer the Trump administration made at the last talks was to help North Korea complete their massive tourism project between Wonsan and Kalma on the country’s east coast. The project has been delayed by the sanctions. If anyone knows how to complete a resort project it would be Trump. I guess we will see what happens in the coming months on this offer.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un visits the construction site of the Wonsan-Kalma resort area on the country’s east coast in this photo capture from the North’s Central TV on Nov. 1, 2018. The country’s media said Kim berated the international sanctions on his country during the visit, blaming them for standing in the North’s “way toward the promotion of people’s wellbeing and development” and for forcing its submission. (Yonhap)
Kim Jong Un's envoy asked President Trump to support tourism development — including casinos — in the coastal North Korean city of Wonsan and the nearby ski resort of Masik Pass, according to South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo (link in Korean) https://t.co/uNunxvCKNHpic.twitter.com/WF0rKEdVZj
This photo provided by North Korea’s main daily Rodong Sinmun on June, 5, 2018, shows a mass civilian-military rally taking place in Wonsan, an eastern coastal city of the North, to show their commitment to completing a tourism district by April 15 next year, the birth anniversary of late founder Kim Il-sung. (Yonhap)
After the media first made it look like the closure of North Korea’s nuclear test site was a big deal, it appears the media is now beginning to understand they are being used by the Kim regime for another purpose:
Foreign journalists will be allowed to journey deep into the mountains of North Korea this week to observe the closing of the country’s Punggye-ri nuclear test site in a much-touted display of goodwill before leader Kim Jong Un’s planned summit with President Donald Trump next month.
Expect good imagery, but not much else.
The public display of the closure of the facility on Mount Mantap will likely be heavy on spectacle and light on substance. And the media will be spending much of their time in an unrelated tourism zone that North Korea hopes will be the next big thing for its economy if Kim’s diplomatic overtures pay off in the months ahead.
For sure, the closure is a milestone, marking an end to the world’s last active underground testing site and offering some important insights into Kim’s mindset as he sets the stage for his meeting with Trump. [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link, but as I have long said the closure of the nuclear test site is largely meaningless because if they decide they need to conduct more tests they can just dig another shaft at a time of their choosing.
What is interesting though is that according to the article the media is going to be kept in Wonsan. This is because Kim plans to use the media to showcase has plan to expand South Korean tourism into Wonsan to increase foreign currency. So basically these journalists going to North Korea get to see a largely meaningless dog and pony show and then promote the Kim regime’s major foreign currency initiative.
I believe that the Kim regime and the Moon administration had the timeline for the current Inter-Korean thaw planned out well in advance. The construction of these resort hotels in Wonsan are evidence of this because construction began well before the Winter Olympics when the current thaw began. The Kim regime knew that the Winter Olympics is when the Inter-Korean thaw would begin and have likely timed the completion of these resorts to when sanctions would be expected to be dropped to fill them with South Korean tourists:
This photo carried by North Korea’s daily Rodong Sinmun on its May 14, 2018, edition shows the Wonsan-Kalma tourist resort under construction. Mentioned by the country’s top leader Kim Jong-un in his New Year address, it sits on the North’s eastern coast and is described as an idea place to be linked with other tourist destinations. (Yonhap)
Voice of America (VOA) reported that Google Earth revealed the satellite images taken by France’s space center Centre Nationale d’Etudes Spatiales and Airbus on May 20. The images shows 20 fighters that appear to be MiG-19 and MiG-21 about one-point-six kilometers southwest of the airport terminal and three more fighters 800 meters off the back of the terminal. The VOA said that all the 23 fighters can be moved to the runways and main buildings of the airport. The report said that a large number of fighters were never spotted at the airport except during the 2015 air show, suspecting that the North is utilizing the airport for military purposes. [KBS World Radio]
