A mountain spa and ski resort has opened in North Korea, in case you feel like hitting the slopes next time you’re checking out all the autocratic regime has to offer.
The opening is part of a tourism push aimed at strengthening the country’s struggling economy.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un opened the resort, which Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said will give people a taste of “high civilisation under socialism”.
“[Kim] hardly repressed his happiness, saying that it has become possible to provide people with new culture, and one more plan of the Party to make our people enjoy high civilization under socialism as early as possible has come true,” KCNA said.
The Yangdok Hot Spring Cultural Recreation Center features modern rooms, hot spring spas, a ski resort and a horse-riding park.
Last week, the reclusive state announced plans to branch out into medical tourism, offering treatments including cataract surgery, dental implants, and therapy for tumours, according to Reuters.
North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on the launch of the “Treatment Tourism Exchange Corporation” which aims at cashing in on the “rising demand for tourism, including medical care, in line with an international trend”.
Tourism is one of the few remaining avenues for economic development that has not been blocked by sanctions imposed by the UN over the country’s nuclear and missile programs.
