According to recent satellite images reported by Radio Free Asia (RFA) on July 9, a luxury cruise ship that is 262 feet long has been spotted operating near a private villa in Wonsan, Gangwon Province. The cruise is known to be owned by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
According to the satellite images captured by Planet Labs, the cruise ship was spotted about 2,953 feet from the Kalma Peninsula on June 27. On July 5, it moved its location about 1,640 feet from the coast of the Kalma villa.
Equipped with a water slide and an international-standard swimming pool, the Kim family primarily uses this 262-foot luxury cruise ship but is sometimes known to transport foreign dignitaries.
Chung Sung Hak, a member of the Korea Institute for Security Strategy, speculated that “Kim or the Kim family might have used the private cruise ship for summering at the Kalma villa in the summer” adding, “There’s also a possibility that he visited the Wonsan private villa with his wife and daughter after the recent Central Committee of the Party meeting.”
Kim attended the Party’s Central Committee meeting for three days from June 28 to July 1 and conducted on-site guidance at important factories and businesses with party executives on July 2. Considering the schedule, it seems less likely that Kim was on board.
Cho Han Bum, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, speculated that the cruise ship might have been on a test run before Kim’s summer vacation or that family members, excluding Kim, might be on vacation. Neither Kim’s wife, Ri Sol Ju, nor their daughter, Kim Ju Ae, appeared at the memorial event for the 30th anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s death.
Currently, it is understood that there are a total of four luxury cruise ships dedicated to Kim in North Korea. Each measures 164 feet, 180 feet, 197 feet, and 262 feet, respectively. It’s known that they were introduced during the era of Kim Jong Il as the Chairman of the National Defense Commission before the UN sanctions against North Korea began in the 1990s.
