Instant Alert: 19 photos of North Korea's 'Hotel of Doom'

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   19 photos of North Korea's 'Hotel of Doom' by Daniel Brown on Aug 2, 2017, 12:48 PM Advertisement Much confusion and mystery surrounds the 105-story, pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel, also known as the "Hotel of Doom," in North Korea. Last week, Pyongyang took walls surrounding the building down, unveiling walkways to the hotel, fueling speculation that construction might start again, according to Fox News.  Construction on the hotel began in 1987, under Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and Kim Jong Un's grandfather. It was supposed to be finished in the late 1980s, but construction was stopped short in the early 1990s because of an economic depression.  An Egyptian company was hired to make some improvements in 2008, and there have been rumors in the last few years that it could open soon, but the hotel's fate remains unknown.  Below are photos of the hotel, most of which were taken in Spring 2017 and provided by Korea Risk Group, a company billed as the leading provider of risk analysis, news, information and data surrounding North Korea. Originally slated to open in 1989, the hotel was supposed to have Japanese lounges, casinos, and night clubs. But construction ground to a halt in 1993 due to famine after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Work began again in 2008, when an Egyptian company called Orascom Group, hired to install 3G cell phone service, added a glaze to the framework – but it remained unfinished. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network:    Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011