His country awash in poverty and prisons, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presides over the opening of a shiny new resort city reportedly built with forced labor.
Poverty-Stricken North Korea Unveils Mountain Ski Town
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Skiers watch the fireworks at dusk during the opening ceremony.
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North Korean government officials inspect a supermarket in Samjiyon on December 2.
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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.
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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.