Construction Of North Korean Hotel Lasts 25 years

North Korea hopes to complete construction of its ambitious Ryugyong Hotel...any year now. The pyramid-shaped hotel stands as a symbol of North Korea's poor economic performance over the past three decades, with construction on the 105-story building starting back in the late eighties. Beijing-based company Koryo Tours, which organises trips to North Korea, was granted a rare glimpse of the hotel recently, according to the American Foreign Press. During the visit, manager Hannah Barraclough and a colleague were told that North Korean authorities "say it will be two or three more years before the building is complete. The atrium, when you walk into the hotel, is covered in glass and full of light," said Barraclough, adding that the glass cladding covering the hotel is nearly completed. The hotel boasts a ninety-fifth floor viewing platform offering "an amazing panoramic view over Pyongyang" and it will house a massive banquet hall as well as offices and apartments, she said. Barraclough added that the hotel is likely to remain closed to tourists until its interior is finished.