Major preparations for new construction have appeared near North Korea’s long-stalled Wonsan Kalma beach resort in recent weeks, according to NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery, pointing to a possible resumption of work on the resort or a new, unrelated project.

North Korea started to build the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area in 2018, but it has sat mostly idle since 2020. It includes over a hundred hotels, shopping and entertainment facilities along a 3.5-mile-long (5.5 km) stretch of beach on the east coast.

Planet Labs imagery shows a new construction worker camp covering 17 acres (7 hectares) began to be installed between Feb. 9 and 12 on the west coast of the Kalma Peninsula, on the opposite side of the Wonsan Kalma International Airport from the beach resort.

Most of about 70 old low-rise apartment buildings containing hundreds of homes near the bayside waterfront were then razed between Feb. 17 and March 3. It appears all the buildings in the area, covering 31 acres (12 hectares), are slated for demolition.

Available evidence suggests workers moving into the tents or other temporary structures at the new camp could work on finally opening the beach resort. They may also be preparing to work on a new project at an air force base attached to the airport or to build long-planned high-rise apartments along the bay.

One piece of evidence tying the new activity to the resort is that part of the workers’ camp for that project was built in the same area as the new one, before it was removed in 2021 after the project went dormant.

North Korea also took Russian tourists — the first foreign tourists to enter the country since 2019 — around the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Area last month while promising it would open in the future.

At the same time, promotions of the resort aimed at domestic audiences recently started to appear in state media again after a long absence, suggesting authorities are planning to offer it as a destination for student and worker field trips as well as for wealthier North Koreans soon.

Photos taken by the Russian tourists showed some hotels are missing window panels and likely require significant interior work before opening. Satellite imagery shows most buildings are nearly complete but that some facilities, like an aquatic-themed arena and outdoor waterpark, are only around halfway finished.

The recent activity could also be related to a new project at the air force base attached to the Wonsan Kalma International Airport.

Planet Labs imagery shows possible excavation along a road inside the southern end of the base starting between Feb. 16 and 17, but no buildings had been demolished as of imagery taken on March 4.

This could be part of an overall revamp of air force facilities ongoing nationwide: A similar-looking base in Pyongyang was demolished last year to make way for a new and larger campus of unknown purpose, while smaller airbases have been razed in order to build sprawling greenhouse farms in recent years. 

The Wonsan Kalma airbase was built around the same time as the airport from 2014 to 2015, while a new parking apron for air force jets was built adjacent to the base in 2020. 

Finally, given the location of the apartments demolished last month — along the eastern end of the Wonsan Bay, on the western edge of the Kalma Peninsula — the new workers camp could be part of a project to build new waterfront skyscrapers or even a seaport. 

North Korea released ambitious plans in 2016 to build office and apartment towers as well as an amusement park along the central part of the bay. Work started the previous year on a street of residential skyscrapers to the south of the Kalma Peninsula, but the project was later abandoned.

The new activity is unlikely to be part of a minor construction project or mere demolition job, given the large size of the workers’ camp.

A clearer picture of the plans is expected to emerge in satellite imagery in the coming weeks. 

Edited by Alannah Hill