• MSN
  • Hotmail
  • More
    • Autos
    • My MSN
    • Video
    • Careers & Jobs
    • Personals
    • Weather
    • Delish
    • Quotes
    • White Pages
    • Games
    • Real Estate
    • Wonderwall
    • Horoscopes
    • Shopping
    • Yellow Pages
    • Local Edition
    • Traffic
    • Feedback
    • Maps & Directions
    • Travel
    • Full MSN Index
  • Bing
  • NBCNews.com
  • TODAY
  • Nightly News
  • Rock Center
  • Meet the Press
  • Dateline
  • msnbc
  • Breaking News
  • Newsvine
  • Home
  • US
  • World
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Health
  • Tech
  • Science
  • Travel
  • Local
  • Weather
  • Recommended: 'Leave our lands': Man knifed to death in suspected London terror attack
  • Recommended: American tourist, 68, stabbed in main square of Florence, Italy
  • Recommended: Iran bars two leading candidates from presidential election
  • Recommended: Captain of luxury Costa Concordia cruise ship to face trial over deadly wreck

First for breaking news and analysis: Compelling world news stories from NBC News journalists. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

  • ↓ About this blog
  • ↓ Archives
    • Icons Email E-mail updates
    • Icons Twitter Follow on Twitter
    • Icons Feed Subscribe to RSS
  • Advertise | AdChoices
    27
    Sep
    2012
    10:47am, EDT

    More than 30 years late, North Korea's vast 'Hotel of Doom' nears completion

    The pyramid-shaped 105-story Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, appears to be almost complete in this picture on Sept. 23.

    By Ian Johnston, NBC News

    With more than 3,000 rooms, North Korea's enormous pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel was designed to be a confident declaration of the isolationist communist state's status in the world.

    More than three decades after it was supposed to open, the so-called "Hotel of Doom" in the capital Pyongyang has recently shown signs that it is finally close to being finished, according to reports.

    Visitors tour the top floor of the Ryugyong Hotel on Sept. 23. Some three decades after construction began, there is still some work to do.

    But photographs released this week reveal that there is still some way to go.


    Follow @NBCNewsWorld

    When it's complete, Ryugyong will be one of the tallest hotels in the world, boasting not just one but five revolving restaurants, the Business Insider website noted.

    PhotoBlog: Communist ideals still strong in China's Nanjie village

    Despite not being open, the hotel has already gathered a number of reviews on its Google+ entry.

    "This resort is a jewel ... It's unreal how trendy this place is with its neoclassical industrial decor, exotic cuisine, and world class casino that rivals anything in Vegas. The shopping is fabulous, especially if you are in to [sic] antiques. Apparently, antiques are trendy for decades...even the dust is trendy! Definitely one for the bucket list," said one tongue-in-cheek reviewer, who set the tone for the others.

    Read more stories about North Korea here

    Slideshow: Daily life in North Korea

    Elizabeth Dalziel / AP

    From work to play, see pictures from inside the secretive country.

    Launch slideshow

    More world stories from NBC News:

    • Free speech? Egypt cleric burns Bible pages at US Embassy
    • Italy rocked by corruption, drug scandals
    • Libya leader to NBC: Film had 'nothing to do with' consulate attack
    • Royal censorship? BBC 'sorry' for daring to report queen's comments
    • China brings 1st aircraft carrier into service, joining 9-nation club
    • Two baby gorillas rescued in Congo; escalation of smuggling feared
    • Robbers try to blow up ATM, but blow up entire bank instead
    • Class wars: 'Gate-gate' scandal swamps UK PM
    • Ancient land of 'Beringia' gets protection from US, Russia
    • Stay informed: Sign up for our newsletter

    Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook

     

     

     

    70 comments

    Five revolving restaurants. One for each guest.

    Show more
    Explore related topics: north-korea, communism, featured, pyongyang, ryugyong-hotel, hotel-of-doom

Browse

  • featured,
  • world-news,
  • syria,
  • china,
  • europe,
  • afghanistan,
  • world,
  • middle-east,
  • israel,
  • pakistan,
  • egypt,
  • iran,
  • russia,
  • updated,
  • uk,
  • north-korea,
  • africa,
  • london,
  • military,
  • assad,
  • france,
  • protest,
  • environment,
  • al-qaida,
  • britain,
  • taliban,
  • italy,
  • nuclear,
  • terrorism,
  • india,
  • asia,
  • germany,
  • japan,
  • vatican,
  • economy,
  • human-rights,
  • crime,
  • south-africa,
  • mexico,
  • pope
Also

Top NBCNews.com headlines

3147,10
Advertise | AdChoices

Archives

  • 2013
    • May (180)
    • April (275)
    • March (432)
    • February (332)
    • January (323)
  • 2012
    • December (332)
    • November (332)
    • October (313)
    • September (360)
    • August (362)
    • July (310)
    • June (351)
    • May (427)
    • April (404)
    • March (427)
    • February (347)
    • January (284)
  • 2011
    • December (357)
    • November (3)

Most Commented

  • 'Leave our lands': Man knifed to death in suspected London terror attack (1027)
  • Sweden stunned by third night of rioting (607)
  • Chef to the stars Miki Nozawa dies following confrontation over unpaid bill (416)
  • North Korea fires more missiles, condemns US and South for 'war measures' (497)
  • Six Americans, Afghan children among dead in Kabul suicide attack (537)
  • 'Love has won out over hate': France becomes 14th country to allow gay marriage (1610)
  • Palestinian kids swept up in wave of Israeli arrests (382)

Other blogs

  • The Body Odd
  • Cosmic Log
  • Red Tape Chronicles
  • PhotoBlog
  • US News
  • Open Channel

NBCNews.com top stories

3147,10
© 2013 NBCNews.com
  • World news on NBCNews.com
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Help
  • Site map
  • Careers
  • Closed captioning
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertise