“We saw nothing terrible there, there is no danger there,” the 33-year-old HR manager tells me.<\/p>\n
“Frankly speaking, we really liked it.”<\/p>\n
She was part of a group of 15 Russian<\/a> <\/strong>tourists who were the first foreign visitors to a new seaside resort, which was opened to great fanfare by North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un<\/a><\/strong> in June.<\/p>\n Her holiday snaps show a white sand beach, shimmering seas and high-rise hotels. But something’s missing – people.<\/p>\n Image: There are rows of sun loungers, but not a soul sitting on them. A glittering banquet hall that’s devoid of diners.<\/p>\n That’s because, when it comes to international tourists, the Wonsan-Kalma resort is currently only open to Russians.<\/p>\n “The hotel was absolutely new,” Anastasiya enthuses, unfussed by the absence of others.<\/p>\n “Everything was done very beautifully, a good interior … very developed infrastructure.”<\/p>\n Image: But why not Turkey<\/strong><\/a>? Or Thailand<\/strong><\/a>?<\/p>\n I gently suggest that people in Britain might be shocked at the idea of a summer break in a country better known for famines and forced labour than parasols and pina coladas.<\/p>\n “We were interested in seeing how people live there,” Anastasiya explains.<\/p>\n “There were a lot of prejudices about what you can and can’t do in North Korea, how you can behave. But actually, we felt absolutely free.”<\/p>\n Image: Anastasiya is one of a growing number of Russians who are choosing to visit their reclusive neighbour as the two allies continue to forge closer ties following the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n Last year, North Korean troops supplied military support in Russia’s Kursk region, and now there is economic cooperation too.<\/p>\n North Korean produce, including apples and beer, has started appearing on supermarket shelves in Russia’s far east.<\/p>\n And last month, Moscow launched direct passenger flights to Pyongyang for the first time in decades.<\/p>\n Image: But can this hermit nation really become a holiday hotspot?<\/p>\n The Moscow office of the Vostok Intur travel agency believes so. The company runs twice-weekly tours there, and I’m being given the hard sell.<\/p>\n “North Korea is an amazing country, unlike any other in the world,” director Irina Kobeleva gushes, before listing some unusual highlights.<\/p>\n “It is a country where you will not see any advertising on the streets. And it is very clean – even the asphalt is washed.”<\/p>\n She shows me the brochures, which present a glossy paradise. There are images of towering monuments, pristine golf greens and immaculate ski slopes. But again, no people.<\/p>\n Image: Ms Kobeleva insists the company’s tours are increasingly popular, with 400 bookings a month.<\/p>\n “Our tourists are mostly older people who want to return to the USSR,” she says, “because there is a feeling that the real North Korea is very similar to what was once in the Soviet Union.<\/p>\n “But at the same time, there is a huge growing demand among young people.”<\/p>\n Sure enough, while we’re chatting, two customers walk in to book trips. The first is Pavel, a young blogger who likes to “collect” countries. North Korea will be number 89.<\/p>\n “The country has opened its doors to us, so I’m taking this chance,” he tells me when I ask why he wants to go.<\/p>\n Read more from Sky News: Follow The World <\/p>\n Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday<\/p>\n![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/skynews-anastasiya-samsonova_6979877.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Anastasiya Samsonova at the Wonsan-Kalma beach resort in North Korea. Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova<\/p>\n![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/skynews-anastasiya-samsonova_6979876.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova<\/p>\n![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/skynews-anastasiya-samsonova_6979866.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Pic: Anastasiya Samsonova<\/p>\n![\"North](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/skynews-apples-north-korea_6979879.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\n Pic: Danil Biryukov \/ DVHAB.RU<\/p>\n![\"Irina](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/skynews-irina-kobeleva-vostok-intur-travel_6979912.png\")
<\/p>\n
\n ‘There is a huge growing demand among young people,’ Irina Kobeleva says<\/p>\n
Trump’s tariffs are back – here’s who is in his sights this time<\/a>
Coca-Cola and Brewdog beer on Russian shelves despite sanctions<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Follow](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/1746827170_314_skynews-world-podcast-richard-engel_6895914.jpg\")
<\/p>\n