Construction began in 1987 but was halted in 1992 as North Korea entered a period of economic crisis after the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

[6] The Ryugyong Hotel is 330 m (1,080 ft) tall,[7] making it the most prominent feature of Pyongyang's skyline and the tallest building in North Korea.

[17] A representative for the North Korean government promised relaxed oversight, allowing "foreign investors [to] operate casinos, nightclubs or Japanese lounges".

[1][18] The hotel was originally scheduled to open in 1992 for the 80th birthday of Kim, but problems with building methods and materials delayed completion.

[2] In 1992, after the building had reached its full architectural height,[2] work was halted due to the economic crisis in North Korea following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

[13] For over a decade, the unfinished building sat vacant and without windows, fixtures, or fittings, appearing as a massive concrete shell.

[2] A rusting construction crane remained at the top, which the BBC called "a reminder of the totalitarian state's thwarted ambition".

[16][22] According to Marcus Noland, in the late 1990s, the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea inspected the building and concluded that the structure was irreparable.

[16][15] In a 2006 article, ABC News questioned whether North Korea had sufficient raw materials or energy for such a massive project.

The government manipulated official photographs in order to remove the unfinished structure from the skyline, and excluded it from printed maps of Pyongyang.

[35] Kempinski did not elaborate on its reasons, but commentators suggested that international tensions related to the 2013 North Korean nuclear test, economic risks, and delays in construction probably played a part.