North Korea, a Stalinist regime said to be struggling with poverty and famine, has opened a multimillion-dollar luxury ski resort — but the attendance so far isn't what Dear Leader Kim Jong Un hoped for.
Masik Pass, an 11-run, $300 million hotel and resort, opened on Jan. 1. It has already played host to a number of celebrities, including Dennis Rodman and North Korean pop group Moranbong Band, CNN reports.
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Simon Cockerell, who works at a Beijing-based tourism company that leads trips in North Korea, was among the first visitors invited to the park. He says he was surprised by the number of locals at the resort since he believes most wouldn't have had the ability or funds to make it. A one-day pass costs $34, not including rental equipment.
"I visited just a couple of days ago and I saw it was well maintained thus far," Cockerell told CNN. "There were a couple of hundred locals there, which was a couple of hundred more than I expected to see."
Cockrell estimated that there were 200 guests at the resort when he visited, according to the independent North Korean news site NK News— a far cry from Kim Jong Un's promised 5,000 daily guests.
But the park has hardly been free of controversy. It has been accused of violating United Nations sanctions, according to a number of news outlets, including Sky News. This includes the sanction that bans North Korea from purchasing any luxury goods, such as the snow-making equipment, Canadian snowmobiles and Swiss-made lifts that have been seen at the resort.
The park features seven brand new snow cannons made by the Swedish company Arcero. But Arcero's CEO told NK News he had "no idea" how this had happened.
Masik Pass is North Korea's second ski resort. It is set to be open 250 days per year.
Image: Jorge Dalmau y Pablo Dalmau Photo via Compfight cc