Inside North Korea’s $800 million ‘Hotel of Doom’: The Brit who saw the empty pyramid up close

A 330-metre pyramid meant to showcase North Korea’s modernity, the Ryugyong Hotel remains empty decades after construction began. Briton Simon Cockerell, one of the few Westerners granted access, describes an unfinished concrete interior behind its polished glass façade. His rare visit reveals a £600m megaproject frozen mid-build, reflecting shifting priorities inside the world’s most closed state.