Kim Jong-un has a massive ‘pool party barge’ complete with waterslides and VIP lounge, satellite pics show
ROTUND North Korea dictator Kim Jong-un loves the good life, but he'll have to do without his plush waterslide barge as it's under repair, a report claims.
Kim is believed to have about 13 significant compounds around the country, and numerous luxury vessels.
The website says the "giant" pleasure vessel boasts an 80 meter-long pool, multi-storey lounge and two huge figure-eight waterslides.
It's not clear, however, whether the posh barge is either being decommissioned in Wonsan, or having a refurb.
NK News has been comparing satellite pictures of the vessel, going back to 2002 - the year that the US named North Korea as part of an "axis of evil".
Reuters reported on April 24 that satellite imagery showed recent movements of luxury boats often used by the North Korean leader and his entourage near Wonsan provided further indications he has been at the coastal resort while he was mysteriously missing.
Kim’s seaside compound in Wonsan, on the country’s east coast, is dotted with guest villas and serviced by a private beach, basketball court, and private train station, according to experts and satellite imagery.
An airstrip was bulldozed last year to build a horse riding track, while a boathouse nearby shelters Kim’s Princess 95 luxury yacht, valued at around $7 million in 2013.
Details of his waterpark were also revealed in a rare sketch done by Italian chef Ermanno Furlanis, who worked in Pyong-Yang for the dictator in 1997.
Former dictator Kim Jong-Il was often seen at the aquatic park with girls often spotted leaving the luxury barge in a boat.
Chef Furlanis, who worked in North Korea for 20 days, said he had managed to catch glimpses of the barge despite authorities often turning his head so he could not see certain areas of the barge.
He told The Sun four years ago: “I think it was for training of the swimmers. The athletes are held in great honour in the country.
“They were young athletes, swimmers or basket(ball)ers.”
But he said he also believed the barge was used for “amusement” as well.
The experienced chef, who has worked all over the globe, said: “(There were) also some young girl(s), I saw two, one time the yacht of Kim Il Sung arrived from there.”
He said he could not see the detail of the floating park as it wasn't near the kitchen.
Cooking for Kim Jung-Il, the leader of North Korea in the late '90s, the chef said the structure featured a landing bay for smaller boats as well as three floors of accommodation, a guard tower and a waterslide into a pool.
The rare sketch revealed that the aquatic park was mobile, moving through the hundreds of islands near the base.
From his vantage point of the kitchens, Furlanis said he could see a guard tower on either side of the pool while there were rooms where people could stay and enjoy themselves.
The chef said he enjoyed his time working there, telling The Sun: “They have been very polite and gentle with us.”
He also said the people were highly refined, and that they appreciated his meals.
But he was unable to see much more of the barge or the dictator himself.
The chef recalled being ordered to turn his head to avoid seeing Kim's yacht arrive.
Furlanis said: “I could not even stare at him, they turned my (head) in the other direction.
“Nobody could stare at him. It is sacred… like worship.”
While the rest of the country was gripped by famine, Furlanis was commissioned along with several other chefs across the world to make international food for the tyrant.