North Korea is taking concrete steps to boost tourism with China to meet growing demand for winter festivals and sports.
“At the end of June, Kim Jong Un suddenly ordered various Cabinet departments to promote new projects that would qualitatively develop winter recreation and tourism between North Korea and China,” a source in Pyongyang told Daily NK recently.
The source explained that Kim issued these orders after designating the period between the closing of the Eighth Party Congress and the opening of the Ninth Party Congress as the “season of North Korea-China friendship.” He proposed focusing this period on promoting winter recreation during a meeting with officials from party and state economic agencies in late June.
“We must prepare for the upcoming Ninth Party Congress with confidence in our global status and with new economic activities,” the source quoted Kim as saying. “We need to focus on planning winter festivals in late 2025 and early 2026 at sites connected to our revolutionary legacy, including Mount Paektu and Samjiyon, and turn them into tourist destinations that will delight people around the world. In addition, we need to take advantage of practical and symbolic synergies in our relationship with China.”
Mount Paektu ski resort becomes centerpiece
Meeting participants said these programs should center on the Mount Paektu Ski Resort in Samjiyon, Ryanggang province. The resort, which opened in October 2024, sits below Pegae Peak and includes six ski courses total, featuring both alpine and tourist ski runs. Chinese ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun recently visited the site with other Chinese diplomats.
Kim said the ski runs and other facilities should be inspected again as part of “meticulous preparations to ensure that even international tourists will find them satisfactory.” The North Korean leader ordered officials to strengthen exchange and cooperation with China as the two countries jointly promote winter recreation development.
Following these orders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports, and the State General Bureau of Tourist Guidance immediately began preparations. Officials from related areas were organized into a new “subcommittee for promoting winter recreation, tourism and exchange.” Subcommittee members plan to coordinate with their Chinese counterparts to develop a concrete framework in the second half of the year.
The Ryanggang province people’s committee and the tourism and sports sectors are currently establishing subordinate preparatory bodies to implement the Cabinet’s plans.
The Cabinet premier urged subcommittee members to take their responsibilities seriously. “If the vision is grandiose but the execution is shoddy, you will certainly be disciplined before the party,” the premier warned.
“This project serves multiple purposes,” the source said. “It’s not merely about promoting tourism, but also serves foreign propaganda interests, political initiatives with China, and earning foreign currency.”
“In Samjiyon, officials are very anxious about the preparations because they view the festival orders as part of a major party initiative.”
