North Korea Launches Tourism Campaign with New Beachside Resort. Who Can Visit

North Korea is dipping its toe into the tourism industry.

On Tuesday, June 24, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended the opening ceremony for Wonsan Kalma, a beachside resort destination that the government developed on the east coast of the country.

The new resort is expected to be large enough to hold 20,000 visitors, according to the BBC. Citing North Korea’s state media outlet KCNA, the publication reported that it would feature additional attractions such as a water park and miles of beach.

Potential guests will be able to eat and shop at the resort, which is said to feature multiple hotels.

Outlets such as the BBC, AP and The Guardian noted that it was impossible to currently verify the claimed details of the park, which was initially supposed to open in 2019.

It will now open its doors to North Koreans starting on July 1. However, the AP reported that Russians should be able to plan a visit to the destination as soon as July 7.

It is unclear if and when nationals from other countries will be able to get into the country as North Korea shut down its borders during the COVD-19 pandemic and has been slow to reopen them.

Citing KCNA, The Guardian reported that Kim “expressed belief that the wave of the happiness to be raised in the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist area would enhance its attractive name as a world-level tourist cultural resort.”

He described the accomplishment as “one of the greatest successes this year” for the country and expressed hope that it would “play a leading role in establishing the tourist culture” within the country.

BBC noted that Wonsan is already home to estates inhabited by some of the country’s wealthiest citizens.

To celebrate the impending opening, Kim attended an opening ceremony with his his rarely seen daughter, Kim Ju Ae, and wife Ri Sol Ju, per BBC. KCNA reported that Russian ambassador to North Korea Alexander Matsegora was also present with members of his staff.

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Rowan Beard, co-founder of Young Pioneer Tours — a tourist agency that specializes in bringing travelers to hard-to-access countries such as North Korea, expressed some concerns about if the beach resort was what would draw international guests to the country.

“Key sites like Pyongyang, the DMZ, and other brutalist or communist landmarks will continue to be the main highlights for international visitors once broader tourism resumes,” he told the BBC.

North Korea is currently on the U.S. State Department’s Level 4 “Do Not Travel” list, due to ”the continuing serious risk of arrest, long-term detention, and the threat of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals.”

The State Department notes that U.S. passports cannot be used to enter North Korea unless they are “specifically validated for such travel by the Secretary of State” which only occurs in very limited circumstances. It also warns that because the U.S. government doesn’t have diplomatic relations with North Korea, it cannot provide help to Americans once they are inside the country