Wonsan Kalma, with a 2.5 mile beach, is one of Kim Jong-un's most-discussed tourism projects, but the only foreign visitors allowed so far have been Russians.

North Korea is banning the entry of foreign tourists to a recently opened mega beach resort, a move that dims prospects for the complex that leader Kim Jong Un hailed it as “one of the greatest successes this year.

The decision is an about-face to the beach club's declared goal of attracting overseas visitors and helping initiate a tourist industry in the totalitarian, hermetic country.