And he’s also using the country’s mountains to build a string of luxury ski resorts, with the latest opening its slopes in February last year. Kim pumped some £21million into the nation’s biggest resort, Masikryong, which was built in under a year and opened in 2013. The resort, which features a 30-year-old ski lift bought from Austria and supplied by China, has been accused being run using child labour from kids as young as 11.
When he’s not appearing publicly, Kim has a breathtaking number of hideaways to choose from. He reportedly owns 17 palaces dotted around North Korea, including one with its own 500m airstrip in Wonsan. But his main residence, Central Luxury Mansion, is in the country’s capital, Pyongyang. The nuclear attack-proof palace is protected by multiple military units along with a high-voltage electric fence and even minefields. It even has its own train station underneath and has tunnels connecting it to some of his other properties.
