The Ryugyong is finally set to open

Well after 24 years the Ryungyong hotel in Pyongyang is finally ready to host visitors. You can read about it here. The hotel is a famous landmark in Pyongyang and a symbol to many of the failed state of north Korea (a fact that has not escaped the regime's attention). As the article notes, construction began in 1987 on what was supposed to be the tallest building in the world. Between the collapse of the Soviet Union (or "sugar daddy" as it was known by in north Korea), China's move to trade with south Korea and the norths general economic collapse construction ground to a halt until the building itself became a symbol of the failed northern state often commented on by news officials and government press secretaries as such. Well with Kim III in power I guess they had to shake that image and finish the thing and as of April 2012 visitors will be able to stay in the hotel. Once done it will chime in as the world's 40th tallest (and taller than anything in the south oddly enough). 10 floors are dedicated to hotel rooms and the rest are for businesses, restaurants and shopping. While there are many, MANY other symbols of the failure of north Korea, none are quite as, well symbolic as the Ryugyong and it will be a monkey off of Kim III's back.

I still wonder how many guests the Ryungyong will actually have and how much money it will actually generate. Chinese government officials and the few tour groups aside (who still may be forced to stay on the island in the Taegang for security reasons), who will stay there?