資料來源：http://www.chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?id=3904&next=1&sub=7
The secretary-general of North Korea's ski association views the alpine landscape before him with pride. Facing a strong, cold wind, he points to a dip in the rugged, tree-covered mountains and says the sunrise there is a sight of unmatched beauty, worthy of the nation's supreme leader, Kim Jong Un.
This is the Masik Pass ski resort, the product of 10 months of furious labor intended to show that this country, so often derided for its poverty and isolation, is as civilized and culturally advanced as any other. The complex of ski runs and resort chalets was originally scheduled to formally open on Oct. 10, the 68th anniversary of the Korean Workers Party, though late last month the main hotels appeared to be little more than shells and foundations were still being dug for secondary buildings.
Who will ski here? Perhaps Kim Jong Un, who reportedly enjoyed the sport as a teenager studying in Switzerland. By the estimate of the ski official, Kim Tae Yong, there are only about 5,500 North Korean skiers in this country of 24 million. Even so, the official displays no doubt that what his country really needs right now is a multimillion-U.S. dollar ski resort. Kim bristles at the suggestion Masik will be a playground for the nation's elite. This, he says, is his country at work. It is proof of the great love of the great leader.
As the Oct. 10 deadline approached, the pace was frenetic. Worker brigades were scrambling to finish not only the two main hotels — a 250-room, eight-story building for foreigners and a 150-room hotel for Koreans — but also employee housing, access bridges and a pumping station. Kim Tae Yong said much of the resort will be finished in phase two. His only concern: the ski lifts.
Last month, the Swiss government nixed plans for a company to sell North Korea lifts and cable car equipment because of new sanctions barring the sale of luxury goods to the North. Austrian and French ski-lift manufacturers also have reportedly said no. North Korea's state-run media has called the Swiss decision a "serious human rights abuse that politicizes sports and discriminates against the Koreans." Kim called it "a pity," but said Masik Pass will have three functioning lifts this year. "We can make nuclear weapons," he said. "We can build a ski lift."
資料來源：http://www.chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?id=3904&next=1&sub=7
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