N. Korea using foreign equipment at newly opened ski resort

North Korea is using Canadian and European equipment at its newly opened ski resort, a website reported, indicating that Pyongyang likely skirted United Nations sanctions banning the transfer of luxury goods to the country.

A snowmobile, snow blowers and snow cats were seen in photos released by the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday when it reported that the North opened its Masik Pass ski resort ahead of New Year's Day.

NK News, a Washington-based website that specializes in North Korean affairs, reported Thursday that the snowmobile shown in the photo was the high-selling Ski-Doo made by Canadian-owned BRP Inc.

The website said the newly manufactured equipment were high-end products; snowblowers were products of Sweden's Areco while the snow ploughs were made by Italy's Prinoth and Germany's Pisten Bully.

It was not immediately clear how North Korea obtained the ski equipment despite toughened U.N. sanctions after its third nuclear test in February last year.

The sanctions call for, among other things, member states not to provide "luxury goods" to North Korea.

The Masik Pass ski resort near the North's east coast city of Wonsan was built on the initiative of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who is believed to have enjoyed skiing in the Alps while studying in Switzerland in the 1990s. (Yonhap News)