Compiled from a tourist map by North Korea's Foreign Languages Publishing House, reports in official North Korean media and a Russian tourist's social media posts. (Satellite image taken on Aug.10 by Planet Labs PBC)

In July, Kim Jong Un met Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, who had traveled to Wonsan. Greeting him warmly, Kim said, "You are the first foreign guest at our resort." Kim Jong Un has put so much emphasis on developing the resort that he made an unusual move to host a high-ranking foreign official outside of the capital of Pyongyang.

Lavrov conveyed a message from Vladimir Putin that the Russian president wants to hold a summit with Kim "in the near future." The meeting was held aboard a ship, and analysis of photographs suggests the location was just offshore to the west of the resort.

Lavrov also met North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui at a hotel at the resort. With North Korea having sent troops to Russia's western Kursk region to fight against Ukraine, Lavrov expressed gratitude, saying, "The heroic soldiers of the Korean People's Army together with the Russian servicemen brought closer the liberation of the Kursk region with the cost of their blood and even their lives."

In return, North Korea is believed to have received substantial sums of money from Russia. "Since the resort development is a pet project of the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, it is believed that funds obtained from Russia are also being utilized," said Atsuhito Isozaki, a professor at Japan's Keio University who specializes in North Korean politics.

After the resort opened, Russian tourists began staying there, with social media posts showing off their beach vacations. Nikkei reached out to one woman who had shared such images on Instagram. Daria Zubkova, a 35-year-old from St. Petersburg, spent three nights and four days there from July 10. Her footage featured white sandy beaches lined with rows of beach umbrellas and lounge chairs -- though few people were in sight.