Report: North Korea wants US to help fund casino construction

North Korea wants America to help it build an integrated resort casino in exchange for concessions on its nuclear program, according to South Korean media reports.

On Tuesday, South Korea’s Donga Ilbo media outlet reported that Kim Yong Choi, a top aide to North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, had suggested the US help finance a plan for a casino in a proposed international tourist destination in the Wonsan-Kalma coastal region.

The proposal comes as the two countries are trying to establish a framework for discussion of North Korea’s nuclear plans at the June 12 summit in Singapore. Kim Yong Choi visited the White House on Monday, during which he reportedly floated the casino investment idea.

Kim Jong-un first proposed the tourist-friendly zone in his New Year’s address to residents of the Hermit Kingdom and was filmed touring the construction operations last month. The plan is for the tourist zone to finish construction by April 15, 2019, the birthday of Kim’s grandfather Kim Il Sung.