The secretary-general of North Korea's ski association views the alpine landscape before him with pride. Facing a strong, cold wind, he points to a dip in the rugged, tree-covered mountains and says the sunrise there is a sight of unmatched beauty, worthy of the nation's supreme leader, Kim Jong Un.
This is the Masik Pass ski resort, the product of 10 months of furious labor intended to show that this country, so often derided for its poverty and isolation, is as civilized and culturally advanced as any other. The complex of ski runs and resort chalets was originally scheduled to formally open on Oct. 10, the 68th anniversary of the Korean Workers Party, though late last month the main hotels appeared to be little more than shells and foundations were still being dug for secondary buildings.
Who will ski here? Perhaps Kim Jong Un, who reportedly enjoyed the sport as a teenager studying in Switzerland. By the estimate of the ski official, Kim Tae Yong, there are only about 5,500 North Korean skiers in this country of 24 million. Even so, the official displays no doubt that what his country really needs right now is a multimillion-U.S. dollar ski resort. Kim bristles at the suggestion Masik will be a playground for the nation's elite. This, he says, is his country at work. It is proof of the great love of the great leader.
As the Oct. 10 deadline approached, the pace was frenetic. Worker brigades were scrambling to finish not only the two main hotels — a 250-room, eight-story building for foreigners and a 150-room hotel for Koreans — but also employee housing, access bridges and a pumping station. Kim Tae Yong said much of the resort will be finished in phase two. His only concern: the ski lifts.
Last month, the Swiss government nixed plans for a company to sell North Korea lifts and cable car equipment because of new sanctions barring the sale of luxury goods to the North. Austrian and French ski-lift manufacturers also have reportedly said no. North Korea's state-run media has called the Swiss decision a "serious human rights abuse that politicizes sports and discriminates against the Koreans." Kim called it "a pity," but said Masik Pass will have three functioning lifts this year. "We can make nuclear weapons," he said. "We can build a ski lift."
北韓滑雪協會的秘書長自豪地看著眼前的高山地形。在迎面吹來的冰冷強風中，他指向被樹木覆蓋的崎嶇山區一個坳陷下去的地方說，日出時那裡的景致舉世無雙，絕對配得上北韓的最高領導人金正恩。
這就是所謂馬息嶺滑雪度假村，是艱苦大興土木十個月的成果，作用在向世人表示，這個往往因為貧窮和自我孤立而受到嘲笑的國家和任何國家一樣文明，同樣有高度的文化。滑雪道和度假屋構成的滑雪村原定於十月十日，北韓執政勞動黨建黨六十八周年紀念日正式揭幕。但是在上個月底，這裡的主要飯店看來都只不過是個空殼子，次要的建築物則還在挖地基。
誰會在這裡滑雪呢？也許金正恩會，據說他年少在瑞士求學時就喜歡滑雪。根據金泰勇（音譯）這位主管滑雪事務的官員說，這個人口兩千四百萬的國家中，只有大約五千五百人會滑雪，但這位官員仍非常肯定北韓現在需要的正是一個耗資數百萬美元的滑雪度假村。針對馬息嶺滑雪村只是充當國家精英分子玩樂場所的說法，金泰勇憤怒的說，這是舉國上下攜手合作的成果，證明了國人對偉大領袖的愛戴。
隨著十月十日完工期限的逼近，工程飛快進行，一隊隊的工人設法奮力完成的不僅僅是兩間主要的飯店──其中一間樓高八層，內有兩百五十個客房，是供外國人住宿，而另一家則只有一百五十個客房，是供北韓人住宿。他們還得完成員工宿舍、聯外橋樑以及一個抽水站。金泰勇說，大部分的工程會在第二階段的工程中完工。他目前唯一關心的問題是登山吊椅。
上個月，瑞士政府否決一家公司出售登山吊椅和纜車給北韓的計畫，原因是新的制裁措施禁止將奢侈品出售給北韓。奧地利和法國登山吊椅製造商據傳也拒絕了北韓。北韓國營媒體宣稱，瑞士當局這項決定「嚴重侵犯人權，將體育運動政治化，同時也歧視了北韓人」。金泰勇形容這種情況「非常遺憾」，但堅稱馬息嶺滑雪村將擁有三套可以運作的吊車系統。他說：「核子武器我們都造得了，打造登山吊車一定行。」
全通翻譯引用 http://chinapost.com.tw/guidepost/topics/default.asp?id=4183&pre=1&sub=7
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