North Korea building a third ski resort

North Korea is building yet another ski resort. Kim Jong-un's latest ski project is underway in Chagang Province.

Construction has begun on North Korea’s third ski area. The soon-to-be Kanggye ski resort is located in Kanggye City, Chagang Province, less than 50 km from the Chinese border. Chagang Province is dominated by mountainous terrain and endures long, severe winters.

Kim Jong-un’s latest ski project is relatively small in scale. The resort will be similar in size to Begaebong, North Korea’s first ski area. Kanggye will house just two slopes, a beginners’ slope and an advanced slope.

The resort will be serviced by two lifts, a rope tow and a chairlift. Skiers will have access to 50 hectares of terrain, modest even by North Korean standards. By comparison, Kim Jong-un’s Masikyrong Ski Resort covers a total area of 1412 hectares.

The new ski area will be much smaller than Masikyrong Ski Resort, built in 2014.

News of the ski resort will come as surprise to many. Masikyrong, a much larger facility, has failed to attract visitors, despite intentions that it would boost North Korea’s tourist appeal. Masikryong remains largely unused, according to reports.

This could change if North Korea accepts an invitation to co-host next year’s PyeongChang Winter Olympics. South Korea’s sports minister, Do Jong-hwan, has offered to use the fledgling ski resort as an alpine venue. Early reports suggest that the proposal is unlikely to materialize.