A freeskier from New Zealand has given the world a rare glimpse of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's burgeoning snow-sports scene, after he filmed his trip there and posted it online.

Sam Smoothy, a pro freeride skier who has regularly competed in the Freeride World Tour, spent 10 days in the communist nation in February, checking out the slopes at Masikryong ski resort.

A North Korean poster Credit: alamy

The Wanaka-based athlete said there was no political agenda – he just wanted to see what goes on in a country that has only recently embraced the sport of skiing.

"The weirdest bit about skiing here is that you kind of forget where you are," said Smoothy. "You're just skiing around goofing off like normal, having fun, and then you're just like: 'We're in DPRK'.

"And every now and then there'll be a little thing that reminds you and you think, this is pretty out there."

The video shows Smoothy skiing on entirely empty pistes, with not a single person in sight. In fact, there seem to be more ski resort employees – identifiable by their matching outfits and huge furry hats – than there are skiers.

Perhaps unsurprisingly given that the rise of snow sports in North Korea is a very recent development, Smoothy finds far more people over on the nursery slopes, where they are making their very first turns.

Officials predicted the resort would have 5,000 visitors a day Credit: CoLab Creative

Masikryong ski resort is supreme leader Kim Jong-un's baby. In 2013 he announced the construction of a ‘giant patriotic work’ – a world-class ski resort that would be built within a year.

By January 2014, 10 months after construction began, Masikryong was ready, a resort built to rival those of neighbouring South Korea after it won the bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

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The resort boasts a luxury hotel, ice rink, swimming pool and restaurants in addition to its nine mixed ability runs, the longest of which is over 5km.

The authorities originally projected that 5,000 people would visit each day – but from Smoothy's footage it would seem this number was wildly optimistic.

At the end of his trip, Smoothy said: "It's definitely challenged my personal politics and beliefs. It's a tricky country to look at the whole picture, but there's a bunch of fun-loving socialists here, that's for sure.

"We've had a blast."

• Ski with an Olympian in Banff with a 10-day Telegraph Ski and Snowboard trip this January