North Korea is building a large new railway depot at the Wonsan Kalma airport and beach resort on the east coast, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, indicating plans to boost tourism or air cargo to the area ahead of the long-stalled resort’s scheduled May 2025 opening.

Planet Labs imagery shows that digging work on a 0.6-mile (1 km) long multi-track railyard, located next to an air force base attached to the Wonsan Kalma International Airport, has been ongoing since late October.

The project is in addition to construction to expand the nearby seaport and finish building facilities at the gigantic beach resort on the other side of the runway.

RAIL STATION

The new railyard is located directly across from a military underground storage area used for air force jets, and it appears to terminate at a new plane parking apron built at the airport in 2020.

It involves expanding a crude, single-track stop that has existed for decades and was used to bring in materials during the airport’s construction in 2015.

The purpose of the new project is not yet clear since it is still in the early stages, but possibilities include a passenger station or freight depot. 

If it is a passenger station, it will likely be for domestic tourist groups traveling to the beach resort, as DPRK leader Kim Jong Un has stated that the resort is for “the people.” So far, however, it has only been opened to Russian tourists, while its construction involved Chinese investments.

This would beg the question of why the station terminates at the airport instead of inside the resort zone. One explanation is that it is to ensure proper inspections and control of entrants into the closed off and highly-controlled zone, which is likely to host foreign tourists who could bring in what authorities see as dangerous information about the outside world.

The construction of a large new passenger station just 0.9 miles (1.5 km) down the tracks from the new site in 2020 also raises questions. The new station could be intended to cut the distance shuttle buses will have to travel to take people into the resort, and again to improve the inspection process of arriving passengers.

It is less likely that international tourists would be the target of a new rail service at the airport, as the resort will likely host mostly Russian tourists arriving by plane and experiencing all-inclusive vacations without leaving.

Foreign tourist trips to Wonsan typically also include stops at other beaches or restaurants in the city, as well as the Masikryong ski resort about 15 miles (25 km) to the west, but these excursions from the airport and resort area would be best serviced by bus.

And if traveling between Wonsan and Pyongyang, foreign tourists would likely travel that route by plane and not train. 

If the new construction project is a freight station, it could facilitate material shipments needed by the airport and the beach resort, which will require resupply systems on levels never before seen in the country if operating at close to full capacity.

The resort features thousands of hotel rooms and hundreds of buildings covering a total area of around 605 acres (245 hectares) across a 3.5-mile (5.5-km) long beach.

But again, it appears that it would make more logistical sense to build such a freight processing facility closer to or inside the resort zone.

Alternatively, it could be meant to service new cargo plane shipment routes from Russia and on to areas on the east coast. But North Korea only has two cargo planes — after recently starting to convert its third Ilyushin Il-76 into a military early warning aircraft — and they are stationed at Pyongyang International Airport.

Such a scheme could make sense for bringing in urgently needed items from far-away locations in Russia which wouldn’t use the east coast sea lanes between the two countries. Many North Korean weapons factories are located along the east coast rail line, and Russian military planes have appeared to land in Wonsan on mysterious, unannounced trips this year.

SEA PORT AND BEACH RESORT

A project to expand a bulk cargo and coal terminal in Wonsan Bay near the airport started in July 2023 and has continued in recent weeks, Planet Labs imagery shows, though its purpose remains unclear.

The work has concentrated around the former coal terminal, and has seen construction of a wide new pier and a jetty running parallel to the port quay. Bulk cargo ships have continued to anchor at a quay just to the east. 

Satellite imagery has also revealed a number of changes and new construction in the Wonsan Kalma beach resort zone following Kim Jong Un’s public visit in July.

Planet Labs imagery shows that by the end of August, a beachside amphitheater had been demolished to make way for a new building, possibly some kind of beach clubhouse. 

Construction also appeared to finally resume on a turtle-shaped aquatic arena and outdoor waterpark.

By late October, workers had demolished a soccer field at the north end of the resort, started to install equipment at the waterpark and even rebuilt an almost identical amphitheater just around 985 feet (300 m) down the beach from the old one.

But a comparison of imagery taken on Oct. 23 and Dec. 9 shows little signs of progress on these small projects.

Kim used to use the long white-sand Kalma beach as a primary missile test and military drill grounds before ordering construction on the resort in early 2018. It missed multiple deadlines for opening before going mostly dormant in 2020 amid the pandemic.

Meanwhile, a large but mysterious construction project on the west side of the Kalma Peninsula appears to have mostly stalled since August, after kicking off in Feb. 2024.

Work has continued at the same time on around 55 new apartment blocks surrounding it, which could be for employees of the massive resort or upgrades for Wonsan residents. 

Edited by Bryan Betts