Kim Jong-un wants 'world class' ski resort in North Korea by year end

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued a national appeal on Tuesday to speed up work on a “world class” ski resort, which is being built as rival South Korea prepares to host the 2018 Winter Olympic Games.

Describing the Masik Pass resort in the northeast of the impoverished country as a “gigantic patriotic work”, Kim urged greater effort to complete the project - with 110 kilometres  of multi-level ski runs, a hotel, heliport and cable cars.

The ruling Workers’ Party “remains unchanged in its resolution to build a world-class skiing ground withthis year”, the Swiss-educated Kim said in a message carried by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday.

The resort, which is being built by the military, will “provide the people and school youth and children with highly civilized and happy living conditions”, said the message addressed to service personnel and the country at large.

When Kim’s father, Kim Jong-il, died in December 2011 he left a country in dire economic straits - the result of a “military first” policy that fed an ambitious missile and nuclear programme at the expense of a malnourished population.

Kim Jong-un has largely followed the same path, while paying lip service to a policy of joint military and economic development which has yet to show tangible progress on the economic side.