By Kim Bo-eun
North Korea has stepped up the promotion of its Masikryong ski resort through a state propaganda website, Monday, ahead of a visit by a South Korean delegation scheduled to be there today through Thursday.
The delegation will visit the resort located near the city of Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast, to inspect the site ahead of a joint training session of North and South Korean skiers before the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next month.
Pyongyang’s “DPRK Today” referred to Masikryong as “the world’s finest ski resort,” stating its scale and facilities.
The post outlined the size of the facilities of the resort being around 1,400 square meters, with 10 ski courses including those for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers. The average length of the courses is 1,700 meters and the longest spans over 5,000 meters, the post said.
It also referred to the resort “boasting a natural ambience yet having a luxurious hotel and helicopter landing field _ having all the necessary facilities for sports, tourism and relaxation.”
The post included multiple photos of the ski resort, showing slopes, lifts and the hotel, as well as people skiing.
The North started the construction of the ski resort in March 2013 and opened it nine months later in December. It is being touted as one of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s key achievements.
The North constructed the resort to attract foreign tourists as a means to earn foreign currency.
The South Korean delegation will examine the ski resort as well as Mount Geumgang on its three-day visit through Thursday.
Earlier, the Koreas also agreed to host a joint cultural event at the scenic mountain ahead of the Games.
The event comes at a time when tourism to Mount Geumgang has been halted after a North Korean soldier shot a South Korean tourist dead in 2008 for wandering off limits.
Concern has been voiced over the scheduled events, as Pyongyang has been placed under sanctions by the U.N. Security Council (UNSC).
The UNSC had taken issue, in particular, with Masikryong because it was constructed with expensive imported equipment such as a Canadian-brand snowmobile and Swedish-brand snowplow.
Critics say South Korean skiers using the Masikryong resort could send the wrong message to the international community about its stance toward sanctions placed on Pyongyang.
Further complicating the issue is that UNSC sanctions prohibit direct cash payments to North Korea. It is yet to be seen how payment for South Korean skiers’ use of the resort will be handled.