Golf course in spotlight in North Korea

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- North Korea is showing off its first golf course on state television, a golf course where only the country's political elites will have the money to play.

State television in North Korea showed a golf course with well-manicured putting greens Monday, South Korean television network KBS reported.

The segment showed a young female reporter wearing imported golfing attire introducing the golf course and recreation area before hitting a ball on one of the putting greens.

"We were able to capture on screen the scenic beauty of a graceful natural environment, where guests are holding a golfing competition," the reporter said.

Footage included an interview with a golf course "guest" who says she is learning golf for the first time, and that the game becomes "more fun as you hit" more balls.

North Korea previously has promoted a horse-riding stable, a water park and a ski resort, but South Korean news network Channel A reported the new golf course probably excludes the vast majority of North Korea's population, who are impoverished.

The average monthly income of a North Korean is $1-2. The cost of one round of golf is about $100, Channel A reported.

But the financially prohibitive costs of playing golf did not seem to weigh on the golfers on the course.

The Pyongyang golf course, built in the shape of the Korean peninsula, hosted an international amateur golf tournament, according to Pyongyang media.