Kim Jong Un disgruntled with tourist resort, economic sanctions

Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Kim Jong Un expressed irritation with a tourist resort being built in the Wonsan-Kalma coastal area in Kangwon Province, according to state media.

The North Korean leader, who was recently seen providing field guidance in Samjiyon County in the north, also said he was frustrated with "enemy forces" who support ongoing economic sanctions against the country, Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported Thursday.

"The street formation is still not artfully, perfectly refined, and the buildings are independently artful, but the space between buildings are not smooth, harmonious," Kim said, adding the disparate heights of the buildings in Wonsan were not to his liking.

He also used the field guidance visit to express frustrations about sanctions, according to state media.

"The hostile forces are trying to block our people's welfare and progress, and trying to subdue us, with their wicked sanctions, but they will see how we will build a strong country with our own hands, using stockpiles of strength that is hundred times greater" than sanctions, Kim said.

Kim also said he expects the tourist resort, which includes a hot springs, to be completed by Oct. 10, 2019. Plans include a hotel that will stand at least 30 stories high, and various government buildings facing the coast.

A water park, electronic arcade and a movie theater will also be included in the area.

Accompanying Kim were top North Korean officials Choe Ryong Hae, Cho Yong Won, Kim Yong Su and Ma Won Chun, state media reported.

North Korea continues to stress self-reliance of the economy, including healthcare.

KCNA reported Wednesday the country's Ryugyong General Ophthalmic Hospital has treated more than 111,500 patients since it opened in 2016.

"The medical workers here have performed 910 cataract surgeries," the report read, adding cataracts are a "global trend."

"Patients who previously had no hope were given the gift of joy," state media said.