Foreign media outlets have reported that large luxury cruise ships equipped with swimming pools and water slides have been repeatedly spotted off the coast of Wonsan in Gangwon Province, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's summer villa is located.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported that an analysis of commercial satellite imagery taken around the Wonsan area from July to October of this year revealed luxury vessels continuously sighted near Kim's summer vacation spot.
The most eye-catching is a large vessel measuring up to 80 meters in length.
On the deck of this ship, a 50-meter-long swimming pool and a water slide have been installed.
The vessel had stayed at a Wonsan maintenance facility since October of last year before moving to the waters off the Kalma Peninsula—where the Kim family villa is located—in early July of this year, and was observed until mid-October.
In addition, three more vessels ranging from 50 to 60 meters in size were spotted.
The BBC noted that the timing of these vessels' movements coincided with periods when leader Kim had no public activities, giving weight to the possibility that they are vacation vessels for the supreme leader's family.
Experts estimate that luxury yachts of a similar scale would cost anywhere from tens of millions of dollars to over 100 million dollars, exceeding 130 billion won in South Korean currency.
Wonsan has been used as a stronghold for the Kim family since the era of former leader Kim Jong-il, and it is also where leader Kim Jong-un spent part of his childhood.
Former NBA player Dennis Rodman, who visited North Korea back in 2013, also testified that he used a Disney-like cruise ship in Wonsan.
In contrast, a significant portion of North Korean residents reportedly still suffer from food shortages, standing in stark contrast to Kim Jong-un's luxury cruise ship.
According to a UN report from last year, North Korea's GDP per capita is a mere 667 dollars, with 40 percent of the total population suffering from chronic malnutrition.
Reported by Lee Hyeon-yeong | Video by Lee Eui-seon | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
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