Poverty-Stricken North Korea Unveils Mountain Ski Town

A drone-eye's view of Samjiyon, a North Korean city that state media says will be able to house 4,000 families.
 

The mountain town, near the border with China, was “opened” by Kim Jong Un on December 2. The opening ceremony marks the end of the second stage of construction, with final completion scheduled for October 2020.
 

A line-up of communist officials flank Kim during the opening ceremony. The statue is of Kim Jong Il, the second leader of the communist country and Kim Jong Un’s late father.

A rooftop view of the regimented opening celebrations. State-run media described the city as “an example of a mountainous modern city under socialism, an epitome of modern civilization.”

Cheering crowds at the December 2 festivities. According to Reuters, Samjiyon was built using unpaid “youth labor brigades” which “are forced to work more than 12 hours a day for up to 10 years in return for better chances to enter a university or join the all-powerful Workers’ Party.”
 

Dancing at the opening ceremony. After U.S. sanctions were imposed in an attempt to stifle Pyongyang’s nuclear program, construction of the city was reportedly delayed due to a shortage of materials.

Samjiyon’s ski slope is visible as fireworks explode over the city. A state media outlet said, without elaborating, that the town had been constructed despite “the worst trials” and “ordeals and difficulties.”
 

Samjiyon under construction in September. Some reports suggest construction was completed using “makeshift concrete bricks.”
 
 

Skiers watch the fireworks at dusk during the opening ceremony.
 

North Korean government officials inspect a supermarket in Samjiyon on December 2.

Crowds of warmly-dressed North Koreans during the opening ceremony. State media has reported on factories and citizens sending winter jackets, blankets, and food to aid the workers building the city. 
 

Kim Jong Un at the opening of Samjiyon. On December 2, North Korea’s government announced a “year-end limit” for the United States to decide “what Christmas gift” it would receive. In April 2019, North Korea’s state media reported that Kim would wait until the end of 2019 for Washington to change its approach to nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang.