N. Korea Seeking to Woo More Visitors

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un recently visited major tourist facilities and positively encouraged officials, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Friday. With his wife Ri Sol-ju, Kim inspected the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist district in Gangwon Province under construction and encouraged workers there, saying it would be "a very nice gift" for the people of North Korea once completed. He stressed that the project should be finished by Oct 10, 2019-the foundation anniversary of the Worker's Party of Korea. During his visit, Kim also said such projects were part of North Korea's "do-or-die struggle" against "hostile forces trying to stifle the Korean people through sanctions and blockade." The KCNA reported that Kim also inspected hot spring resorts in Yangdok County in South Pyongan Province and ordered construction workers (Korean People's Army soldiers) to develop the area as a special tourist district with additional healthcare facilities and resorts.