The story behind North Korea's 1,080-foot 'Hotel of Doom,' an abandoned skyscraper that has never hosted a single guest

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Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea, is the tallest unfinished building in the world.

Construction on the "Hotel of Doom" began in 1987 and has stopped and started several times over three decades due to North Korea's economic woes.

For now, one side of the 1,080-foot building has been outfitted with LED screens used for propaganda light shows.

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At 1,080 feet, North Korea's Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang is the tallest unfinished building in the world.

The 105-story "Hotel of Doom" has never hosted a single guest, but it remains a subject of international fascination.

Here's the story behind the abandoned skyscraper that dominates the capital city's skyline.Construction on the Ryugyong Hotel began in Pyongyang in 1987, but halted due to economic troubles in North Korea.

Vincent Yu AP

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, North Korea lost its main trading partner and source of aid, spurring an economic crisis.

The hotel reached its full height in 1992, but the inside was never completed.

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The Ryugyong Hotel is 105 stories tall and is sometimes referred to as the 105 Building.

To this day, it has never hosted a single guest.

Eric Lafforgue Art In All Of Us Corbis via Getty Images

Despite its aversion to foreign visitors, North Korea does have several functional hotels in Pyongyang. Until the Ryugyong Hotel is completed, the Yanggakdo International Hotel is the city's largest, and the Ryanggang Hotel is widely regarded as the fanciest.

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