“A 50-meter pool and even waterslides”... Kim Jong Un’s luxury vessels spotted off Wonsan, North Korea

[Financial News] North Korea, which is suffering from severe food shortages, has seen a series of large luxury vessels believed to be for the exclusive use of the family of leader Kim Jong Un.
On the 18th (local time), the British BBC reported that its analysis of satellite images taken off Wonsan, Kangwon Province, North Korea, from July through mid-October this year confirmed that four large vessels, measuring 50, 55, 60 and 80 meters in length, had repeatedly moved near Kim’s seaside villa.

The largest vessel, measuring 80 meters, spent several months at a maintenance facility before moving in early July to waters off the Kalma Peninsula in Wonsan, where the Kim family has a large villa complex. It remained anchored there until the middle of this month. The vessel’s deck was found to have a swimming pool about 50 meters long and several waterslides.
The other vessels also appeared frequently in waters near Wonsan. The 50-meter and 55-meter vessels were spotted several times around Taedo and Sindo off Wonsan through late August, while the 60-meter vessel was seen near Kim’s Wonsan villa until recently. It is similar in size to the vessel that former NBA player Dennis Rodman, who visited North Korea in 2013, described as a 60-meter-long boat “like a Disney cruise ship” on which he enjoyed jet skiing with Kim.

The vessels’ official owners have not been identified, but experts say that no one outside North Korea’s leadership could own vessels of this size or freely travel along the coast.
Ri Jong-ho, a North Korean defector who worked at Central Committee Bureau 39 of the Workers’ Party of Korea (Room 39), which manages the Kim family’s funds, told the BBC, “They are kept at a shipyard in winter, then moved to Kim Jong Un’s villa or the Kalma area in summer and used for swimming and recreation.” He criticized Kim, saying, “Ordinary people struggle even to eat one meal a day, but Kim Jong Un has four luxury vessels like these.” The exact prices of the vessels seen in the satellite images are unknown, but the outlet reported that luxury yachts of a similar size sell for around $100 million (about 134 billion won).
The BBC said, “The vessels’ movements coincide with periods when Kim Jong Un has not made public appearances,” and pointed out that this lavish lifestyle stands in stark contrast to the reality facing North Koreans. According to a 2025 UN report, an estimated 40% of North Korea’s population suffers from malnutrition due to widespread forced labor and chronic food shortages.
[email protected] Park Ji-hyun Reporter