NORTH Korea has welcomed its first tourists to its ghostly new “Benidorm” beach resort.
But the initial batch of visitors have reported that they are followed everywhere and their phones are likely bugged.
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The newly built resort, called Wonsan‑Kalma, has opened for Russian tourists on package tours.
It features a a giant artificial white sand beach – once a missile test site – on the Sea of Japan, and was opened by dictator Kim Jong Un himself.
But Russian guests say the experience is very different inside a state even more repressive than their own.
“You are accompanied everywhere… even on the beach someone walked with us,” according to blogger Daria Zubkova.
Yet this was as “sweet concern” for guests rather than more ominous snooping, she added.
“They are walking [with you].
“[If] you want, they chat with you, [if not] they just walk behind you.”
Daria added that the minders “argue that they worry about us getting lost or something else”.
But the veterinary therapist added: “What many people are afraid of….is some kind of wiretapping everywhere and so on.
“Most likely, I think that there is probably all of this, but we just weren’t afraid, because we have nothing to say that would make someone scold us for it.”
The resort can accommodate up to 20,000 people, according to reports, and has jet-skis.
Russian tourists holidaying there must make their own way to the eastern city of Vladivostok.
From there they are flown into North Korea – to the capital city of Pyongyang.
But once in the country, the group of 13 inaugural guests had their short flight from Pyongyang to Wonsan was suddenly cancelled – and a train arranged instead.
“An entire train for just 13 people is simply unthinkable,” said Daria.
“It was new, very comfortable, with air conditioning.”
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She added: “I saw villages [from the windows of the train]….people are working in the fields, not very rich people.”
Another tourist Lyudmila said: “I was even interested in riding the train, because for the first time I saw that the mountains they paint in their pictures really exist.
“It is also very interesting to see the country from the train.”
But once they got to Wonsan, their hotel was full with visiting officials and journalists accompanying Putin’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.
The tourists were then moved to inferior accommodation.
Tourists were also told that sending emails cost £1.65 each.
The tour company made clear that the secret police would have the opportunity to monitor their messages.
“Please note that the email will be sent from the hotel’s email box, not yours.
“Therefore, to make it easier to find a reply addressed to you, we recommend that you include your room number in the subject line.”
Tourists were also told in advance: “We recommend taking tea, coffee, sugar with you!!! Fruits are not served.”
But Daria added: “There were a lot of types of meat, duck, rabbit, different types of fish. They really tried to please us.”
The basic cost of this tour for Russians is £1,360 – once they have made their way to Vladivostok.
All but £325 of this has to be paid in cash.
“We like everything,” said tourist Pavla Gambal. “The sea is warm, the beach is clean, they keep order.
“The territory is well-kept. The food is very tasty, you can eat it.”
It comes at a time when when North Korea has sent soldiers to die for “ally” Vladimir Putin, along with ship loads of military equipment and ammunition.
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