North Korea will open a massive coastal tourist zone with accommodations for 20,000 visitors, though lingering COVID-19 concerns and political tensions will limit initial foreign access.

North Korea will open a tourist site on its east coast next week that it calls a prelude to a new era in its tourism industry, though the country still mostly blocks foreign visitors.

The Wonsan-Kalma beach resort is North Korea's biggest tourist site. Russia said Thursday it will send its first group of tourists to the site in July