Kim Jong-un's billion-dollar spending spree: From a chocolate fountain to a beach resort

'About 70 percent lack food, and many people rely on food donations from abroad', according to Lovemoney. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has promised to fight food shortages and seek a solution. However, it seems he does not want to cut back on his own needs in the process.

According to Lovemoney, Kim Jong-un has spent 'vast sums of money over the years on weapons programs and other projects that flatter his vanity more than they satisfy the needs of his people'.

But not only that, the money also flows into other things such as the huge Rungrado 1st Of May Stadium in North Korea's capital Pyongyang.

Rungrado 1st Of May Stadium

With a capacity of about 150,000 spectators inside, this stadium is one of the largest in the world! The Koryo Tours website goes on to say that the stadium was opened in 1989 and is used for the North Korean mass games, the Arirang Festival. At that time, the construction alone had already cost €200 million, and in 2013 the government decided to renovate.

Chocolate fountain in the airport

North Korea's regime reportedly views modern airports as a 'key symbol of North Korean national pride', as Lovemoney reports. Thus, an international terminal opened at Pyongyang Airport in 2015, which is even said to now feature a chocolate fountain! However, the publication says this is all just for show to the outside.

In 2015, a journalist from The Guardian reportedly noticed that - despite an extra Internet room - there was no Wi-Fi at the airport, and in 2017, another source allegedly observed that only one to two flights a day would take off from Pyongyang for foreign destinations. 'North Korean airline Air Koryo is regularly voted the worst in the world', Lovemoney adds.

Industrial port turned into a beach resort

In Kim Jong-un's January 2019 New Year's speech, he announced plans to transform his birthplace of Wonsan into a beach resort for tourists. As early as 2014, he is said to have had plans to turn the industrial port city into a resort with hotels, villas, small beach huts, and a beautiful long promenade, 38North reports.

So much effort, but how does the population benefit from spending on beach resorts, stadiums, or weapons? With a good image to the outside world, North Korea could once again attract tourists and bring in more money. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has put a spanner in the works, and the investment in weapons programs does not bode well either.

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Creating 'Pyonghattan'

But the transformation of an industrial city is not all that makes one shake one's head: North Korea's rural regions remain barely developed to this day, and the population there lacks 'food, running water and electricity', yet the government continues to pour its money almost exclusively into the capital, Lovemoney says.

Kim Jong-un, for example, is said to have already spent vast sums to beautify various neighbourhoods of Pyongyang. The many new skyscrapers are said to have earned the North Korean capital the nickname 'Pyonghattan', referring to the wealthy New York borough of Manhattan.

Kim Jong-un's luxury jet

In addition, North Korea's ruler owns a private jet, which is jokingly named 'Air Force Un'. The plane is said to be equipped with luxurious details such as leather sofas and crystal ashtrays and is said to have cost about €1.4 million!

Read more:

⋙ Kim Jong-un travels with his own toilet, here's why

⋙ Kim Jong-un's regime allegedly received luxury horses as payment for 'secret' exchange with Russia

This article has been translated from Gentside DE.

Sources used:

Lovemoney: 'What North Korea's government spends money on'

Koryo Tours: 'The Rungrado May Day Stadium | North Korea Travel Guide'

38North: 'Examining Kim’s Approach to Construction: Project Wonsan'

NCNK: 'Kim Jong Un's 2019 New Year Address'