Silent pall hangs over North Korea's ski resort

Masikryong, North Korea

ON THE ski fields of Mount Taehwa, groomed pistes snake down wooded hillsides to a luxurious hotel and a giant screen showing a North Korean army choir. But the runs are empty.

Work began on Masikryong ski resort, the only one in the North and the brainchild of Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, after Pyeongchang in the neighbouring South was awarded the 2018 winter Olympics.

The impoverished, nuclear-armed nation has ramshackle infrastructure, and around 40 per cent of its people are undernourished, according to the Global Hunger Index.

But the luxurious resort boasts a wood-panelled reception and statues of winter sports athletes.

Outside, a large stone tablet acclaims: "The work of Dear Leader Kim Jong Un who devoted hard work and heart and soul to make our …