▲ This photo, captured from the homepage of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea, shows the Wonsan Kalma coastal tourist zone. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

China-NK tourism zone

Chinese Embassy in N. Korea introduces Wonsan-Kalma tourism zone

SEOUL, March 8 (Yonhap) -- The Chinese Embassy in North Korea has introduced the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist zone, a beach resort complex that opened last year and has so far been limited mainly to Russian tourists.

The embassy posted 15 photos of hotels, beaches and a sunrise in the tourism zone on its website on Wednesday, as part of a regular series of posts introducing North Korea that began in September.

The embassy described the zone as North Korea's first large-scale coastal tourism complex, calling it a "cultural resort" and a "world-class tourist attraction on the east coast."

The tourism zone opened in July 2025 and was built to accommodate up to 20,000 visitors, initially receiving Russian group tourists through a Russian travel agency.

The posting came after China's Ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun and other embassy officials visited the resort area on the occasion of the Lunar New Year last month.

It marked the first time the North's state media carried a report on Chinese Embassy officials visiting the tourism zone, raising speculation that Pyongyang may be preparing to accept Chinese tourists.

Chinese tourists had previously been a major source of tourism revenue for North Korea, but the flow was suspended after Pyongyang closed its borders in early 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and formal tourism for Chinese visitors has yet to resume.

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