North Korea has ordered all commercial facilities in the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone to register their electronic foreign currency payment systems by May 14.
The directive, issued by the Cabinet’s State Planning Commission on May 8, requires businesses to connect to a newly established foreign exchange branch operating directly under the Central Foreign Trade Bank rather than local provincial banks.
“This creates a structure allowing the state to directly control foreign currency flows,” a source in Kangwon province told Daily NK recently.
North Korea plans to open commercial facilities in the tourist zone sequentially starting late May, ahead of the zone’s official June opening. All businesses serving customers with foreign currency — including hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and souvenir shops — must comply with the registration requirement.
Choi Ji-young, research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said the measure extends North Korea’s policy of centralized currency control.
“There is a clear intention to directly control finance and track foreign currency flows,” Choi said. “This isn’t a short-term attempt but part of a continuous trend strengthening state-led economic planning and financial control.”
The registration process has created difficulties for business managers, who face varying fees based on business type and complex procedures. Financial officials are pressuring them as the deadline approaches.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the tourist zone construction in July 2024, instructing preparations be completed for a May 2025 opening, according to the Workers’ Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun.
Frustration among locals
The project has generated resentment among local residents who contributed labor but can’t afford to use the facilities.
“We were worked to the bone constructing the tourist zone, but we can’t even set foot in it because of the high prices,” one person said. Others suggested those who helped build the complex should at least be allowed to use amenities like swimming pools or saunas at state-set prices.
“Wonsan residents are complaining that the state is treating Wonsan only as a means to earn foreign currency,” the source said. “Even if you’re from Wonsan, if you don’t have money, you won’t be able to enter the tourist zone.”
