North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has inspected the construction site of a tourist zone on the country's eastern coast and ordered the project be completed by April next year.

The North's state-run Korean Central News Agency said that Kim inspected the site of the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area in Gangwon Province on Saturday.

Kim examined the scale of the construction, progress made so far and the status of materials and facilities.

Earlier North Korea canceled a visit to the tourist area by foreign journalists from five countries including South Korea who were in the North to cover Thursday’s demolition of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site.

The media crew was to visit the tourist zone on Friday afternoon but they were told to stand by at their hotel for more than two and a half hours, apparently because of Kim Jong-un's field inspection.

Kim ordered officials to complete the construction by April 15th next year, the birthday of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung which is celebrated as the Day of the Sun.

It's known the initial date of completion was September ninth this year to mark the 70th founding anniversary of the North Korean regime, but the date appears to have been pushed back in line with progress in the construction. 

[Photo : YONHAP News]