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North Korea opens new ski resort amid talks to be involved in next month's Winter Olympics

This isn't the first time Kim Jong-un has opened a ski resort - seen here in Masikryong Ski Resort - AFP
This isn't the first time Kim Jong-un has opened a ski resort - seen here in Masikryong Ski Resort - AFP

The final countdown to the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, has begun, with less than a month to go – but that hasn’t stopped the country’s northern neighbour from demanding its own time in the spotlight with the opening of a new ski resort.

The Kanggye Ski Resort is the second ski area to be built in North Korea in less than five years, following the much larger Masikryong Ski Resort, which opened in 2013.

The news was announced on the country’s Ryugyong website, which explained, in true North Korean style, that the project was completed ahead of schedule to reflect the “supreme will of the people.”

Sunday’s debut followed a 10-month building project by local workers. Construction of the resort, close to the city of Kanggye in the north of the country, near the border with China, began in July last year on the orders of leader Kim Jong-un.

At the time of the announcement of the project, state-run DPRK Today said the ski area would feature two ski slopes and snow-making capabilities “so skiing would not be hindered if snow doesn’t fall in the winter.”

Kim Jong-un - Credit: EPA/RODONG SINMUN
The leader rides a lonely chairlift in North Korea Credit: EPA/RODONG SINMUN

The ski area reportedly covers 12 acres with a 530-metre main slope, suitable for beginner and intermediate skiers. There’s also a 200m beginner slope, restaurants and accommodation, according to North Korean sources.

Back in 2013, during the construction of the Masikryong resort, which reportedly cost £21 million, North Korea wasn’t permitted to import a chairlift from Switzerland due to trade sanctions – which Kim Jong-un’s regime referred to as “a serious breach of human rights.” Instead it had to source a 30-year-old Austrian ski lift, sold to the North Korean resort by China.

Masikryong
Masikryong ski resort is the country's largest resort

To avoid UN sanctions hindering the development in Kanggye, the new resort’s lift was build locally, at “Masikryong speed” – a term which has become widely used in the communist state – referring to the breakneck pace at which workers built the Masikryong resort in under a year, something that is a point of national pride.

Snow sports in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea made headlines in late 2016 when professional freeride skier Sam Smoothy, from New Zealand, filmed his trip to the slopes of Masikryong and shared it with followers. He found the slopes to be empty, with most visitors on the nursery slopes only just learning to ski.

The opening of a second resort in Kanggye comes as the country participates in talks with South Korea to secure its attendance at the Winter Olympics in just a few weeks’ time.

The International Olympic Committee is scheduled to discuss a proposal from the South Korean government that the two countries have agreed, in principle, to field a joint women’s ice hockey team at the Games. If approved at the meeting in Switzerland this weekend, it will be the first unified Korean Olympic team ever.

Seoul - Credit: KIM HONG-JI
The stage is set for the Games in South Korea Credit: KIM HONG-JI

On Monday it was also announced that Pyeongchang would welcome a 140-member North Korean pop orchestra to perform at the Games.

The orchestra, known as the Samjiyon Band, is one of North Korea's top art troupes. It's scheduled to perform twice in South Korea – once in the capital, Seoul, and again in Gangneung, one of the Olympic locations on the country’s east coast.

south korea - Credit: 2018 Handout/Handout
Delegates from the two Koreas discuss North Koreas participation in next months Winter Olympics Credit: 2018 Handout/Handout

To avoid controversy it has reportedly been agreed that the troupe will only play traditional Korean folk songs, known by both countries, as well as classical music – avoiding any North Korean propaganda.

Following talks held at the border village of Panmunjom earlier this month, the two sides have agreed it's likely that North Korea will send athletes, cheerleaders, the orchestra, journalists and a taekwondo demonstration team to the Games in Pyeongchang.

things facts you didn't know about north korea
things facts you didn't know about north korea

Kim Jong-un addressed the global sporting event in a New Year speech. “In regard to the Winter Olympics which will be held soon in South Korea, (the Olympics) will be a good opportunity to display the status of the Korean nation and we sincerely hope that the Games are held successfully.”