Much of a South Korean-owned golf resort in North Korea’s Kumgang tourist zone was damaged in a fire, new high-resolution satellite imagery suggests, though questions remain over how the fire started and if it was part of stated plans to unilaterally demolish the facilities.

The new image, taken by Planet Labs on April 16, also reveals that only the basic foundation of the Haegumgang Hotel, a floating structure in nearby Kosong Port, remains after a month of dismantlement efforts.

Work to dismantle the Haegumgang Hotel appeared almost finished on April 16 | Images: Planet Labs PBH, edited by NK News

THE STORY SO FAR

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the destruction of both the Ananti Golf Resort and Spa and the Haegumgang Hotel during a visit to Kumgang in Oct. 2019. The multi-million dollar facilities were built in the 2000s to support inter-Korean tourism, but tours have been suspended since 2008.   

Satellite imagery shows unusually high activity around the floating hotel in late February this year, ahead of the start of dismantlement work in early March just a few days before the South Korean presidential election. This suggests Pyongyang wanted to send a message to both main candidates, regardless of their party. 

North Korea appeared poised to carry out the full range of Kim’s plans to destroy South Korean assets, having ignored pleas from Seoul and owner Hyundai Asan to stop and discuss the situation. It then seemed that the next stage had begun when the Ananti golf resort’s lodging buildings appeared to be destroyed between April 9 and 10.

However, North Korean state media released a rare report days later on a domestic wildfire event, appearing to claim the golf resort’s destruction was caused by an accidental fire. The report also promised to “rehabilitate the affected area,” possibly a reference to Kim’s plans to build new resorts to replace the South’s facilities. Ananti soon after announced it would abandon the project. 

State media’s claims of a forest fire appeared credible, with evidence of a large fire surrounding the golf resort visible in satellite imagery. Forest fires have also occurred in the same region in spring in the past, according to NASA’s Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), and a large one broke out the next day around nine miles (15 km) to the south of Kumgang on both sides of the inter-Korean border, Planet Labs imagery shows.

If the fire was accidental as North Korean state media suggests, and authorities did not intentionally destroy or set fire to the buildings this month, it is unlikely their story will gain much sympathy in the South after Pyongyang demolished the Haegumgang Hotel and thereby signaled plans to destroy the Ananti facilities anyway.

THE STATE OF SOUTH KOREAN ASSETS

The images below support earlier NK Pro reporting on destruction of the Ananti golf resort this month, but show that at least some damage was likely done by a fire and not explosive demolition, as the DPRK has used with other South Korean assets in Kaesong as well as domestic reconstruction projects. 

The main clubhouse and lobby building of the Ananti resort still appeared intact as of April 17. The remnants of some of the ten lodging buildings remained visible as well, but most of them appeared to be heavily damaged. Efforts to clean or tear down the South Korean-owned buildings also appeared to continue between April 11 and 17.

Comparison of high-resolution images of the Ananti resort taken on Feb. 22, 2022 (left) and April 16, 2022 (right) | Images: Planet Labs PBH, edited by NK Pro

Comparison of medium-resolution images of the Ananti resort taken on April 11 (left) and April 17, 2022 (right) | Images: Planet Labs PBH, edited by NK Pro

While not proof of an intentional or accidental fire originating on the resort grounds, it is notable that no other buildings appeared to be destroyed within the wide area affected by the wildfire, according to the high-resolution Planet Labs imagery.

It also remains possible that some of the damage was caused by local demolition, but it likely won’t be possible to determine the true nature of events without high-resolution imagery of the site throughout the day on April 9.

Images at the top of this article show that work to dismantle Hyundai Asan’s Haegumgang Hotel has also continued in recent days, and that only the floating foundation remained as of April 16. Piles of materials collected during the dismantlement appeared to be organized on the pier next to the hotel. 

It is unclear if the remaining base will be reused or completely dismantled.

Meanwhile, North Korea does not appear to have begun destroying other South Korean-owned assets in the Kumgang area as of April 17, such as the Kumgangsan Cultural Center to the south of the golf resort or the Kumgangsan Pensioner’s Town next door to the destroyed floating hotel.

Edited by Arius Derr