North Korea's 105 storey hotel may finally open after 30 years

It is a looming and mysterious feature on the Pyongyang skyline. This is the 105 storey hotel that is reportedly due to open in the North Korean capital after almost 30 years in limbo.

The Ryunyong Hotel development was due to open in 1989, with construction beginning when Kim Jong-Un’s grandfather Kim Il-Sung was still the dear leader of the secretive Communist state.

But the planned opening was abandoned following the fall of the Soviet Union, along with an economic meltdown is that is said to have seriously affected plans to bring tourists into the shady dictatorship.

However, the ‘hotel of doom’, as it became known, is now thought to be welcoming guests for the first time ever after lights were seen on two separate floors of the building.

It’s thought that the expansive development, which includes casinos and nightclubs, could be set to open its doors for the first time in a bid to boost tourism levels.

MORE: Pilots are keeping depression and suicidal thoughts under a ‘veil of secrecy’

MORE: Seven things you can do to help the people of Aleppo

Describing the mooted opening, North Korean researcher Peter Ward said: ‘I’m very surprised to see the top of the Ryugyong lit.’

Plans were previously made for the hotel to reopen in 2012 to mark the 100th birthday of Kim il-Sung, but that deadline was missed too – and the hotel remained closed.

The North Korean government are yet to officially comment on the speculation.