An 80-metre (263ft) luxury vessel has been repeatedly spotted in satellite images off the coast of Wonsan, near a seaside resort used by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his family, between July and mid-October. The vessel, which appears to feature a 50-metre swimming pool along its deck and waterslides at one end, had been at a maintenance facility for months before relocating to waters off the Kalma Peninsula in early July, according to a BBC report.
The area is near Wonsan, where Kim Jong Un spent part of his childhood with his mother, according to biographers and intelligence reports. The BBC also tracked four other large vessels around Wonsan, measuring approximately 50m, 55m, 60m and 80m, all of which repeatedly appeared near the supreme leader's villa this year.
Rumours of Kim's death remain unconfirmed
The reports of the luxury vessels emerged just days before rumours circulated online that Kim had suffered a brain haemorrhage and passed away. Wanjun Xie, chairman of the China Democracy Party, claimed that Kim died after a severe cerebral haemorrhage and that his sister, Kim Yo-jong, has taken control of the regime. These claims have not been confirmed.
Former North Korean officials, defectors and experts say it would be difficult for anyone unconnected to the regime's leadership to own or freely use vessels of this size. "In winter, they would keep them at the shipyard. When summer came, they would bring them out and move them to Kim Jong Un's villa or towards Kalma, and use them for swimming and recreation," said Ri Jong Ho, a former official at the Workers' Party's Office 39, which is believed to be involved in raising and managing foreign currency for the leadership.
Luxury contrast amid widespread hardship
The wealth of those at the top of the secretive North Korean dictatorship is as hard to pin down as the country's economic figures. According to a 2025 UN report, most North Koreans live under "systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations" with total state control, widespread forced labour and chronic food shortages that leave an estimated 40% of the population undernourished.
Comparable luxury yachts to the one seen in the satellite images range from tens of millions to over $100m (£75m). Kim's much smaller, 29-metre Princess yacht was previously estimated to be worth about $7m, the BBC reports. While vessel locations alone cannot establish the family's whereabouts for certain, their movements point to activities that would otherwise remain out of public view.
"Kim Jong Un is supposed to be a 'leader of the people'," Ri Jong Ho said, "yet he has four luxury vessels like these while ordinary people are struggling just to get one meal a day."
