Luxury yachts spotted near Kim Jong-un's Wonsan compound, BBC reports

An 80-meter (263-foot) luxury vessel has been repeatedly spotted off the coast of Wonsan, North Korea, where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un maintains a summer retreat, according to a BBC report. 

“An 80-meter luxury vessel has been repeatedly spotted in satellite images off North Korea's Wonsan coast from July to mid-October this year,” the British broadcaster reported on Sunday.

“What stands out is the 50-meter swimming pool along the deck, with a cluster of waterslides at one end.”

After spending several months at a maintenance facility, the vessel moved to waters near the Kalma Peninsula in Wonsan in early July. The area is close to a coastal resort where the Kim family maintains a sprawling vacation compound.

Three other large vessels, measuring 50 meters, 55 meters and 60 meters in length, were also repeatedly spotted near Kim's retreat. The 50-meter and 55-meter vessels traveled between Taedo and Sindo islands near Wonsan until late August, while the 60-meter vessel was observed near Kim's Wonsan residence as recently as last week.

Although the exact value of the vessels remains unknown, the BBC reported that luxury yachts of similar size can cost around $100 million.

Satellite images also showed four smaller boats alongside the 50-meter vessel. Satellite imagery expert Jeong Seong-hak, cited by the BBC, said the smaller boats were used to transport passengers, fuel and supplies to the larger vessel.

“[Small islands like Taedo and Sindo islands offered] secluded maritime retreats where privacy can be maintained away from public view,” Jeong said to the BBC.

The BBC reported that the vessels appear to be used almost exclusively by Kim and his family, citing testimony from former North Korean officials, defectors and experts.

"In winter, they would keep them at the shipyard,” said Ri Jong-ho, once an official at the Workers' Party's Office 39, which oversees the Kim regime's foreign currency operations. “When summer came, they would bring them out and move them to Kim Jong-un's villa or toward Kalma, and use them for swimming and recreation.”

Wonsan, where Kim is believed to have spent part of his childhood with his mother, has served as a vacation destination for the ruling Kim family since the reign of his father, former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

A North Korean defector who spent 13 years guarding residences used by Kim Jong-il between the 1990s and early 2000s also told the BBC that villas in the Wonsan area served as vacation retreats for North Korea's elite.

The BBC noted that the Kim family's lavish lifestyle stands in stark contrast to the harsh economic conditions faced by ordinary North Koreans.

“Most North Koreans, according to a 2025 UN report, live under ‘systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations’ with total state control, widespread forced labor and chronic food shortages that leave an estimated 40% of the population undernourished,” the BBC said.

“But the regime has long been known to live in luxury.”

North Korean state media rarely report directly on Kim's vacations and instead have portrayed his trips as field guidance visits or inspections as part of the regime's propaganda efforts.

"Kim Jong-un is supposed to be a 'leader of the people,'" Ri said. "Yet he has four luxury vessels like these while ordinary people are struggling just to get one meal a day."

BY JEON MIN-GOO [[email protected]]