A photo released by Koryo Group on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, shows the ground floor of the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel (AP Photo/Koryo Group)
Visitors tour the top floor of the unfinished 105-story Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea.(AP Photo/Koryo Group)
The pyramid-shaped 105-story Ryugyong Hotel stands in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Koryo Group)
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) -
A foreign tour agency has released the first public photos from inside the tallest and most notorious building in North Korea: the 105-story, pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel, which remains unfinished more than 20 years after construction began.
Beijing-based Koryo Tours got a peek at the interior of the hotel in Pyongyang, the capital. Photos taken by the company Sunday show a bare concrete lobby, as well as sweeping views of Pyongyang from a viewing platform.
North Korea began building the Ryugyong in the 1980s but stopped when funding ran out in the 1990s. Exterior construction resumed three years ago, but few have been allowed inside. Koryo says it will open in two or three years.
The enormous hotel remains a source of fascination — and ridicule — for the outside world.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 1:00 PM EDT2013-05-22 17:00:29 GMT
An emotional funeral service has been held for a Hofstra University student who was accidentally shot by police.
An emotional funeral service has been held for a Hofstra University student who was accidentally shot by police. Andrea Rebello's family followed the pastor Wednesday as he led her white cloth-draped coffin to the altar at St. Teresa of Avila Church in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 12:55 PM EDT2013-05-22 16:55:01 GMT
Jersey shore town is celebrating a milestone as it rebuilds from Superstorm Sandy. Belmar officials will reopen their 1.3-mile boardwalk that was destroyed by the October storm.
Jersey shore town is celebrating a milestone as it rebuilds from Superstorm Sandy. Belmar officials will reopen their 1.3-mile boardwalk that was destroyed by the October storm.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 12:27 PM EDT2013-05-22 16:27:26 GMT
Black and Hispanic men are more likely to be stopped in the Bronx and Brooklyn than other boroughs, according to an analysis of police street stop data released Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Black and Hispanic men are more likely to be stopped in the Bronx and Brooklyn than other boroughs, according to an analysis of police street stop data released Wednesday by the New York Civil Liberties Union.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 12:10 PM EDT2013-05-22 16:10:42 GMT
The NYPD arrested a suspect in the latest anti-gay attack in the city, said police.
The NYPD arrested a suspect in the latest anti-gay attack in the city, said police. The incident Monday night involved two men, who police say, had met at the Bowery Mission and went out drinking together in the East Village. Roman Gornell, 39, was arrested on Wednesday.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 8:23 AM EDT2013-05-22 12:23:21 GMT
Ex-congressman Anthony Weiner whose career imploded after raunchy tweets said in a YouTube video announcement that he's in the New York City mayoral race.
Ex-congressman Anthony Weiner whose career imploded after raunchy tweets said in a YouTube video announcement that he's in the New York City mayoral race. A poll released Wednesday placed Weiner in second place behind City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in a Democratic primary.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 8:10 AM EDT2013-05-22 12:10:21 GMT
Commuter rail service from Connecticut to New York City, along with Amtrak service between Boston and New York, was back on schedule Wednesday morning on one of the nation's oldest and most heavily traveled railways.
Commuter rail service from Connecticut to New York City, along with Amtrak service between Boston and New York, was back on schedule Wednesday morning on one of the nation's oldest and most heavily traveled railways.
Wednesday, May 22 2013 7:42 AM EDT2013-05-22 11:42:24 GMT
The National Weather Service is looking into whether a tornado touched down in a rural eastern New York county during a series of severe thunderstorms that rumbled across the upstate region.
The National Weather Service is looking into whether a tornado touched down in a rural eastern New York county during a series of severe thunderstorms that rumbled across the upstate region.
A photo released by Koryo Group on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012, shows the ground floor of the 105-story Ryugyong Hotel (AP Photo/Koryo Group)
Visitors tour the top floor of the unfinished 105-story Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea.(AP Photo/Koryo Group)
The pyramid-shaped 105-story Ryugyong Hotel stands in Pyongyang, North Korea. (AP Photo/Koryo Group)
