North Korea is banning the entry of foreign tourists to a recently opened mega beach resort, a move that dims prospects for the complex that leader Kim Jong Un hailed it as “one of the greatest successes this year.

The decision is an about-face to the beach club's declared goal of attracting overseas visitors and helping initiate a tourist industry in the totalitarian, hermetic country.

North Korea has barred foreigners from a newly opened beach resort, the country's tourism administration said this week, just days after Russia's top diplomat visited the area.