Kim Jong Un Luxury Boat: 50m Vessel With Pool Spotted
Satellite images show a luxury boat featuring a 50-meter swimming pool and waterslides moored off the Kalma Peninsula near Kim Jong Un's villa.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Satellite images reveal a 50m luxury yacht with a pool and waterslides off the Kalma Peninsula
- The vessels were spotted moving near North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's Wonsan seaside villa
- The UN classifies North Korea as impoverished, while the elite maintain a luxurious lifestyle
- Former officials and defectors confirm these vessels are closely tied to the regime's leadership
What stands out in recent satellite imagery is a 50-meter swimming pool along the deck of a luxury vessel, complete with a cluster of waterslides at one end. After sitting idle for months at a maintenance facility, the large boat relocated in early July to waters off a strip of coastline known as the Kalma Peninsula.
This location is close to Wonsan, a seaside resort featuring a sprawling villa utilized by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family. Analysis of satellite imagery by the BBC indicates that this was not the only large vessel on the move, as a handful of others were repeatedly spotted near Kim's villa as well.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Former North Korean officials, defectors, and experts widely believe that it would be extremely difficult for anyone unconnected to the regime's leadership to own or freely operate vessels of this magnitude. One such former official previously served at the Workers' Party's Office 39, an entity believed to manage foreign currency for the top leadership.
The vast wealth held at the top of the secretive North Korean dictatorship remains as difficult to quantify as the nation's economic figures. The United Nations and international bodies rely on estimates to classify North Korea among the world's poorest countries, weighed down by a massive military budget supporting a sanctioned nuclear program.
According to a 2025 UN report, most North Koreans live under systematic, widespread, and gross human rights violations characterized by total state control, forced labor, and chronic food shortages that leave an estimated 40% of the population undernourished. However, the ruling regime has long maintained a lavish lifestyle.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
While the exact cost of the vessels observed in satellite imagery remains unknown, comparable luxury yachts range from tens of millions to over $100 million, equivalent to roughly 75 million British pounds. By comparison, Kim's much smaller 29-meter Princess yacht was previously estimated to be worth around $7 million.
Analyzing the movements of these luxury vessels provides external observers with a rare window into the private habits and scheduling of North Korea's leadership. Because yacht relocations frequently overlap with gaps in Kim Jong Un's public appearances, they serve as a key indicator of activities kept hidden from state media broadcasts.
Although vessel locations alone cannot definitively establish the family's exact whereabouts, their movements frequently overlap with gaps in Kim's public appearances, pointing to activities kept entirely out of public view. Wonsan itself is where Kim Jong Un spent part of his childhood alongside his mother, according to biographers and intelligence reports, with experts noting the city has been tied to the family since Kim Jong Il's rule.
A defector who spent 13 years guarding residences used by the former leader recalled seeing dozens of children and teenagers waterskiing during the summer months at the elite Wonsan retreat. While state media rarely publishes reports about Kim taking holidays, instead framing such trips as official guidance inspections, defectors confirmed that local residents were well aware the ruling family vacationed in the area.
Source: BBC World
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