North Korea has built a large ski resort, Kanggye, which has become the second largest ski area after the Masikryong resort, which opened in 2013. The facility was commissioned last Sunday. The project was completed ahead of schedule, reports North Korean publication Ryugyong.
In total, it took no more than 10 months to design and build the complex, located near the city of Kanggye in the north of the country, not far from the border with China. Construction began in July last year on the orders of the country's leader, Kim Jong-un.
The ski area covers 12 hectares with a 530-meter main slope suitable for beginners and intermediate skiers. According to North Korean sources, the resort also has a 200-meter slope, restaurants and hotels.
Back in 2013, during the construction of the Masikryong resort, North Korea was not allowed to import a chairlift from Switzerland due to trade sanctions, which the regime called a “serious violation of human rights.” Instead, it had to use a 30-year-old Austrian lift sold to North Korea by China.
To avoid UN sanctions preventing the development of a new resort in Kangan, the ski lift was built in-house.
The urgent opening of the second resort is due to the fact that the country is actively involved in negotiations with South Korea in order to secure its participation in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Snow sports in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea only began to develop in late 2016, when professional skier Sam Smoothie from New Zealand filmed his trip to the Masikryong slopes and shared his impressions with colleagues, specifying that the slopes were empty and most tourists were still learning to ski.
Source: trn-news.ru