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The BBC report published this week examined recent commercial satellite images that captured the distinctive vessel positioned close to the Wonsan villa complex, where construction and upgrades have continued in recent years. According to the analysis, the boat features two prominent twisting waterslides rising from its deck alongside a multi-storey lounge area that was expanded during a 2020 refurbishment. NK News first highlighted the craft’s unusual design in a 2020 report based on Google Earth and Planet Labs imagery dating back to 2019, when the vessel spent about a month near the leader’s retreat following a reported visit in late July.
North Korea maintains a fleet of at least four large custom leisure boats measuring 50, 55, 60 and 80 metres that were acquired in the 1990s before United Nations sanctions took effect, Radio Free Asia reported in July 2024. The 80-metre vessel, which includes an Olympic-sized pool with four 50-metre lanes, has been observed making annual trips from Wonsan docks to the villa area during summer months, often coinciding with periods when state media indicated Kim Jong Un was in the region. A researcher at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy told Radio Free Asia that the yacht is primarily used by Kim Jong Un’s family and occasionally by foreign dignitaries.
Satellite imagery reviewed by NK News showed the same 80-metre boat undergoing repairs at central Wonsan docks in 2020 before reappearing at the villa in subsequent summers, including a 2021 visit documented in July imagery. The movements of these vessels have served as one indicator of activity at the retreat, which includes a private beach, marina and additional guest facilities built or renovated since 2017. In one 2019 instance detailed by NK News, the boat remained at a nearby site on the Hodo peninsula for several days around a gathering that appeared to include high-level attendees.
The Wonsan complex has seen repeated modifications visible in commercial imagery, with a new secluded villa constructed on the Hodo peninsula in 2019 that received visits from multiple leisure boats in the following years. Radio Free Asia reported in 2022 that the broader area features about 20 to 30 exclusive properties associated with the Kim family, with the Wonsan site distinguished by its beachfront amenities and supporting infrastructure such as a horse-riding range. Planet Labs imagery from August 2019 showed both the 80-metre pool boat and a 55-metre vessel near the main villa at the same time.
Recent activity around the luxury boats has included periods when the 80-metre vessel was documented at the private beach in February and March 2026, shortly before and after reported missile tests, according to NK News analysis of Planet Labs data. The boat’s multi-level lounge was rebuilt with additional floor space during its 2020 overhaul, while the pool surface was also replaced at that time. Earlier imagery from 2018 and 2019 indicated similar patterns of deployment lasting up to a month during warmer months.
Jung Seong-hak, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Security Strategy, told Radio Free Asia in 2024 that the presence of the yacht near the Galma villa suggested use for summer vacation activities by Kim Jong Un or his family. The 80-metre boat was observed approximately 500 to 900 metres offshore in images captured on June 27 and July 5 of that year. NK News has tracked four different leisure boats of 50 to 60 metres appearing at the villa over multiple years, with the largest one distinguished by its waterslides and pool.
