Welcome to North Korea’s Benidorm
The hermit kingdom’s new resort is for its own enjoyment, not foreigners’
LESS THAN a decade ago the Kalma peninsula was still being used to test weapons. But on June 24th the Wonsan-Kalma Beach Resort was at last ready enough for Kim Jong Un to relax poolside. With his wife, daughter and cigarettes by his side, North Korea’s dictator looked on as a man shot out of a waterslide.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Beating missiles into waterslides”
From the July 5th 2025 edition
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Is Thailand heading for another coup?
The generals would be mad to try
Australia’s mushroom murderess is found guilty
The trial, with a plot stranger than detective fiction, has gripped the country
The Economist is hiring a Seoul-based researcher/reporter
We’re looking for a fluent speaker of Korean and English
Central Asia still has a complex relationship with Russia
But countries know their neighbour is a crucial partner
Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended
And conservatives forces are circling her populist movement
China’s bid to influence the Philippines heats up
Its tactics move from sea to land