Those hoping to ski at a new ski area under construction in North Korea which leader Kim Jong Un has commanded should be asia's largest and which should be created from scratch within a year have had several set backs.
Firstly bad weather including torrential rain led to damage to the construction site and flooding of the base area last month and now lift manufacturers in Austria, France and Switzerland have declined orders valued at around £5m from North Korea for ski lifts for the new resort for fear of breaking international sanctions which forbid the sale of 'luxury items' to North Korea.
The Swiss government said they thought the resort was being built for 'prestige and for propaganda' purposes and for use by North Korea's elite rather than by the general population.
Kim Jong Un has however said the new Masik Pass ski resort will be available for use by all, unlike an existing north Korean ski area, Begaebong, which does have an elderly double chairlift which is believed to have been imported from Switzerland prior to the current sanctions regime, which is reported to be only used by the North Korean military and elite.
Kim Jong Un is believed to have learned to ski himself in Switzerland where he was educated and his desire to build a ski resort bigger than any in South Korea is seen by many Western commentators as one-up-manship after the North Korean leader declined to participate with the south in plans for the 2018 Winter Games to be staged in South Korea.