North Korea appears to be preparing to host a large number of high-level foreign visitors for a special event, after rapidly constructing two hotel-sized buildings and another mansion inside a state guesthouse compound for visiting leaders, NK Pro analysis of satellite imagery shows.

Planet Labs imagery and new state media footage has revealed detailed views of two new seven-story buildings in the Kumsusan State Guesthouse compound in east Pyongyang, as well as a new mansion and landscaped ponds.

The two larger buildings feature multiple wings with rows of rooms — possibly 100 or more per building — resembling many hotels in the country.

The third building appears to be three or four stories high with dozens of rooms and is more similar in layout to the existing main guesthouse mansion in the center of the compound, where Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko stayed for his summit with leader Kim Jong Un last week.

Preparation for the project started inside the Kumsusan State Guesthouse compound last October, while the new mansion and hotels were almost entirely built in December, revealing that it was undertaken with urgency and significant state resources. 

The project appears close to wrapping up: Planet Labs imagery shows efforts to landscape and pave roads around the new facilities in the first week of March, while some temporary construction-related structures disappeared as well. 

The mansion where Lukashenko stayed was built rapidly ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s visit in 2019. Russian leader Vladimir Putin and several high-ranking Russian officials have stayed there since 2024. 

WHO’S COMING?

North Korea has had no problem hosting both large and small foreign delegations for decades, offering luxurious lodgings at Kumsusan and the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse to leaders and high-ranking officials, while other officials and international reporters have stayed in public hotels.

But the construction of large hotels inside the main state guesthouse compound suggests North Korea is preparing for something different, with a capacity to host hundreds of VIPs at once.

Pyongyang may be planning to hold an international conference bringing together officials from various countries, or host a very large contingent from one country for a high-profile summit with Kim Jong Un.

One possibility is a large group of Russian and North Korean military personnel related to the two countries’ ongoing war against Ukraine. 

The guesthouse construction and the war are linked in several ways: Work started at the same time as a new museum and cemetery next door for DPRK soldiers who died in the war, and the architectural style of the hotels appears the same as new apartment buildings for the families of dead soldiers built last year at the adjacent Saeppyol Street.

Leader Kim Jong Un plans to open the museum around April 26, the one-year anniversary of “victory” in the battle to defend Kursk, which aligns with the recent rapid work to finish the facilities.

Construction of large hotels could also be meant to offer secure accommodations and security for the hundreds of officials and support staff that usually travel with the leaders of major world powers like Russia, China and the U.S.

It seems unlikely that Putin will return soon since diplomatic protocol suggests it is Kim’s turn to travel to Russia. 

It’s possible that Xi could return for the first time since 2019, especially since Kim went to Beijing last September and exchanges between the two countries have ramped up this month.

Pyongyang could also be planning to host U.S. President Donald Trump and a large number of officials and security. Trump has expressed his desire to meet Kim many times in the last year and even suggested he would be willing to travel to Pyongyang, possibly in May, around his trip to China. Minsk said Lukashenko discussed Trump and diplomacy with Kim last week. 

While Kim said he’s open to talks with major preconditions attached, he has not indicated he would put on an opulent state visit for his adversary.

Overall, the construction suggests that even if a visit by a record-sized delegation is not imminent, North Korea sees such exchanges as a possibility in the near future. 

Pyongyang may also plan to invite a more constant flow of large government delegations as it recalibrates foreign relations under Kim’s closer watch. 

However, the full range of the Kumsusan compound’s functions is still unclear. For example, North Korea has not revealed the purpose of a large palace built in a traditional Korean architectural style across the lake from the main foreign leader guesthouse, even while upgrading it in 2024. 

Kim Jong Un also invited top propaganda musicians to the main guesthouse for a meet-and-greet during the pandemic, and they later used the compound to shoot a music video. 

There is a possibility that Kim built the new hotels and mansions as a retreat for high-level domestic officials, or as a venue for holding important political meetings or celebrations. However, its prominent function of serving foreign guests makes this less likely. 

Satellite imagery suggests an underground parking garage may have been built under the new mansion building but not at the hotels, and there are no large parking areas that can accommodate dozens of buses typically used by visitors to the capital during major political conferences. The most common venue for such visitors continues to be the April 25 Hotel located at the Mirim military parade training complex in southeast Pyongyang.

Edited by David Choi