Men, women, and even children are working to clear snowy roads on the way to North Korea's elite Masikryong ski resort, an NBC News report finds. Equipped with only sticks, pickaxes, and makeshift shovels, the laborers — who look to be as young as 11 — were not observed to have any salt or snowplows to help them clear "dozens of miles" of snowy roads.
At the end of those roads are Masikryong slopes, a world-class ski resort frequented only by the wealthy or well-connected few of North Korean society. "They will swim in its half-Olympic sized pool, drink imported French cognac and Scotch whisky in its bars — there is no sign of successful sanctions here — and eat delicious fish from the nearby sea," all before driving home "past the massed and huddled work gangs toiling through the day, hacking away at the snow and ice."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
-
Border Patrol gets scrutiny in court, gains power in ICESpeed Read Half of the new ICE directors are reportedly from DHS’s more aggressive Customs and Border Protection branch
-
Shutdown stalemate nears key pain pointsSpeed Read A federal employee union called for the Democrats to to stand down four weeks into the government standoff
-
Trump vows new tariffs on Canada over Reagan adspeed read The ad that offended the president has Ronald Reagan explaining why import taxes hurt the economy
-
NY attorney general asks public for ICE raid footageSpeed Read Rep. Dan Goldman claims ICE wrongly detained four US citizens in the Canal Street raid and held them for a whole day without charges
-
Trump’s huge ballroom to replace razed East WingSpeed Read The White House’s east wing is being torn down amid ballroom construction
-
Trump expands boat strikes to Pacific, killing 5 moreSpeed Read The US military destroyed two more alleged drug smuggling boats in international waters
-
Trump demands millions from his administrationSpeed Read The president has requested $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for previous federal investigations
