What conditions Kim Jong Un lives in and what his wife, sister, and daughter wear
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has begun a large-scale renovation of his luxurious residences. Satellite images show updates to at least nine of the dictator's luxury complexes. What else is visible from space and what has appeared in official videos?
Kim Jong Un inspects a new aquaculture facility in Ragwon County, August 30, 2025. Photo: Korean Central News Agency / Korea News Service via AP
According to an analysis by the research service NK Pro, which specializes in the study of North Korea, the country's leader owns more than a dozen luxurious residences. As The Wall Street Journal writes, construction work on at least nine of them began in late May — early June.
Among the properties is a private complex on the coast in Wonsan, where Kim Jong Un usually spends the summer months. According to the WSJ, it is there that a yacht worth about $7 million moors during his vacation. Work is also underway at a residence in Pyongyang, a country complex near a lake, and a vast family estate, on the territory of which, analysts claim, there are even launch pads for ballistic missile tests.
According to experts, the current renovation was made possible by an influx of financial and material resources that Pyongyang is receiving as a result of deepening cooperation with Russia and China.
North Korean state media do not report on these renovation works. As the publication notes, an open demonstration of a luxurious lifestyle would contradict official propaganda, which claims that Kim supposedly shares the hardships with his people.
Since access to his residences is virtually impossible, researchers obtain primary information about the North Korean dictator's luxurious lifestyle from satellite images. As the WSJ notes, superyachts, equestrian arenas, and Olympic-sized swimming pools can be seen on them.
Kim Jong Un during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Photo: Korean Central News Agency / Yonhap News Agency via mk.co.kr
Official photographs are among the few confirmations of this lifestyle. Last year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov visited Kim on his 29-meter, two-deck yacht. Former American basketball player Dennis Rodman, who met the North Korean leader in 2013, later compared vacationing on his yacht to a trip to Hawaii or Ibiza.
As The Wall Street Journal notes, luxury in North Korea serves not only the personal comfort of the country's leader but also helps maintain the loyalty of the ruling elite. The current leader's father, Kim Jong Il, rewarded his close associates with expensive alcohol, Swiss watches, and other valuable gifts.
His son has continued this practice on an even larger scale.
Despite international sanctions that prohibit the supply of luxury goods to North Korea — from Rolex watches to Mercedes-Maybach cars — Kim Jong Un and members of his family continue to use products from well-known global brands.
The WSJ noted that during a visit to Beijing in September, the North Korean leader was seen with a Swiss watch. According to South Korean intelligence, as early as 2015, Kim and his wife had German-made saunas installed in their residences.
The North Korean leader's sister, Kim Yo Jong, carries Dior bags worth over $7,000. His daughter, Kim Ju Ae, appeared in a puffer jacket from the same brand during the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, and Kim's wife was seen with a Gucci bag during a visit to a factory.