China has a near-useless aircraft carrier.

Russia was notorious for building giant projects for their "Dear Leaders," like a giant telescope that can't see worth shit.

They ain't gonna like the very expensive answer.

they can't help but make it look like a villain's lair from a sci-fi movie or videogame.

And that is the finished look. This is what it has looked like for better part of the last 2 decades:

Just because you have a paltry number of people to invite for cake and ice-cream you shouldn't project it on to the most lovable people on the planet!

which may not ever be used as intended. It's certainly never going to be filled with foreign tourists.

Let that country get back to normal like the south. I feel bad for the people that live in the country it's so fricking isolated there.

on an epic scale.

That's all.

hidden camera and microphone.

I forget which leader

-No seriously. I know people who have been to North Korea for the tourism experience and I know people who would like to go.I'd like to go myself just to see what it is like. It's an adventure, the last Stalinist, truly communist outpost on earth. And the North Koreans need the money from tourism, which is why they've somewhat eased the restrictions on tourism visas recently and are much more flexible then they once were

Of course one could legitimately argue that all the money spent on building this 5-star hotel could be better spent on providing for all its starving citizens. And I may agree. But OTOH tourism can produce a lot of revenue for that purpose so perhaps this is not a totally wasted investment after all

They use to have some resort opened near the South Korea border where South Koreans were allowed to travel for vacation. Because of NK's cash issue the only form of currency used at the resort was US Dollars. But there was some vacationer from SK shot because she walked outside the tourist area and that tourism has shut down. And i think there was an issue with a warship that also kept tourism closed.

It seems now the only people vacationing in NK are the Chinese but again, NK kinda limits where you are allowed to visit.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_North_Korea


Honestly, I don't know who would want to visit Pyongyang. It seems like it's a very depressing town and unless i had family living there I would have no desire to go. But there does seem to be some beautiful mountain and beach resorts which get some tourism including Chinese cruise ships.

My guess is that could be the objective.

They're the King of the World!!!!!!!