Kim Jong Un’s 80-meter luxury yacht, complete with a swimming pool and waterslides, spent about three months of summer 2026 anchored off the Kim family’s seaside villa in Wonsan, according to my analysis of satellite imagery. The vessel, reserved for the exclusive use of the North Korean leader’s family, left those waters in mid-October and appears to have returned to a ship repair dock in the Wonsan area.
High-resolution images captured the yacht again and again from July through September near the Kalma villa, which overlooks the sea beside the Wonsan Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone. Kim Jong Un opened the beach resort in 2025 as the centerpiece of his push to draw tourists and foreign currency into the country. Imagery from the same period also shows two smaller yachts, about 50 and 55 meters long, anchored near Tae and Sin islands, 3 to 4 kilometers east of the Kalma Peninsula.
It remains unclear when North Korea acquired these luxury vessels, how much it paid for them or who formally owns them. The UN Security Council has banned the supply of luxury goods to North Korea since 2006 and also restricts the supply, sale and transfer of vessels to the country. If Pyongyang obtained the yachts through deals that those sanctions prohibit, the purchases could amount to a violation.
The yachts’ size, onboard amenities and long stays near the Kalma villa suggest they may also help the regime entertain senior foreign guests. In July 2025, Kim Jong Un held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov aboard a yacht near the Kalma Peninsula, and luxury vessels reportedly helped host the delegation. The meeting came as Pyongyang and Moscow deepened a military partnership that the regime still celebrates at home through mandatory lectures. Kim Jong Un, his daughter Kim Ju Ae and other members of the ruling family may also have used the yacht during their stays at the villa. Kim Ju Ae is the leader’s teenage daughter, whom South Korean intelligence and many analysts regard as his likely successor. Satellite imagery cannot show who was on board or why the yacht was in use, however.
For that reason, I continue to compare the yachts’ anchorages, routes, exterior changes and visits to the repair dock over time. That record offers useful clues about when the Kim family stays in Wonsan and how the regime runs its network of private retreats.
Kim Jong Un’s yacht spends the summer off the Kalma Peninsula
Planet Labs images dated July 5, Aug. 25 and Sept. 17 all place the 80-meter yacht in the same stretch of water off the Kalma Peninsula, where the villa stands. Planet Labs is a U.S. commercial satellite company that photographs nearly the entire globe every day. Taken together, the images suggest the vessel stayed in the area for about three months, from early July to early October. With a swimming pool, waterslides and other leisure facilities on deck, the yacht appears built for recreation at sea rather than simple transportation. The Kim family may have used it to swim and escape the summer heat during holidays at the villa, but the imagery cannot confirm who actually boarded.
Imagery from Oct. 15 shows the yacht gone from its summer anchorage and apparently back at the ship repair dock. A second vessel, about 60 meters long, also appears moored for an extended period off the Wonsan villa. If the 80-meter yacht has indeed entered the dock, crews are likely inspecting and maintaining its hull, engines and deck equipment. Tracking how long it stays, what changes around the repair facilities and whether it sails again should reveal more about how the yacht operates and how closely it connects to the Kalma villa.
Imagery from October 2025 captured two more large yachts, about 50 and 55 meters long, in the waters around Tae and Sin islands off Wonsan. The 50-meter vessel lay at anchor off the western shore of Tae Island, while the 55-meter vessel sat south of Sin Island. Both belong to the fleet of four luxury yachts that the Kim family keeps for its exclusive use. The roof over the 55-meter yacht’s upper deck has changed from orange to dark blue, a sign that crews have refurbished its exterior. That yacht has not appeared lately at Wonsan port, the villa pier or other spots where it was previously observed, so its current whereabouts remain an open question.
Sin, Tae and So islands form a small cluster just off the coast of Wonsan. The waters between them offer some shelter from open-sea wind and waves while staying well away from the mainland shore. Those conditions make the area ideal for anchoring and operating large leisure vessels, which likely explains why the Kim family favors it for recreation and privacy. Yachts anchored between the islands suggest the area serves as an exclusive leadership retreat for activities such as water skiing, fishing and swimming.
The yachts offer a glimpse of the privileges the Kim family enjoys along a coastline that the regime markets as a tourist showcase. Daily NK sources have reported that the resort has become a playground for the wealthy elite, with foreign currency prices far beyond the reach of most North Koreans. An earlier Daily NK satellite analysis of nighttime lights found the resort blazing bright while nearby Wonsan neighborhoods sat in darkness. Pyongyang has also written tight controls into the Wonsan-Kalma Coastal Tourist Zone Act, even as it courts foreign investment and visitors.
November 2, 2026 at 08:05PM
by DailyNK(North Korean Media)