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North Korea to reopen to foreign tourists in December
North Korea, which closed its borders in early 2020 to protect itself from Covid-19, will reopen its borders to foreign tourists in December, according to travel agencies.
March 25, 2024 in Pyongyang.
AFP
North Korea will reopen to foreign tourists in December after nearly five years of banning them from entering its territory due to Covid-19, two professional travel agencies announced on Wednesday.
“We have received confirmation from our local partners that tourism in Samjiyon, as well as the rest of the country, will officially resume in December 2024,” Beijing-based Koryo Travel said on its website.
The town of Samjiyon, near North Korea’s northern border with China, is the gateway to visiting Mount Paektu, where the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was born, according to official reports.
His son and successor, Kim Jong-un, has poured money into developing the area, including new apartments, hotels and ski resorts.
Coronavirus disease
KTG Tours, also based in China, wrote on its Facebook page that it had been told that tourists could visit Samjiyon “this winter.” “The exact dates are still to be confirmed. So far, only Samjiyon has been officially confirmed, but we are sure that Pyongyang and other places will also be open!” the tour operator added.
North Korea closed its borders in early 2020 to protect itself from Covid-19, and even banned its own citizens from entering the country for years. But in the second half of 2023, signs of reopening began to appear, and the resumption of flights allowed North Koreans stranded abroad to finally return home. In February 2024, a group of Russian tourists traveled to North Korea, when relations with Moscow were strengthening.
Before the outbreak, international tourism to the country was restricted, with travel agents saying about 5,000 Westerners visited the country each year.
Before Washington banned travel to North Korea following the imprisonment and death of student Otto Warmbier after being deported to the United States in 2017, Americans alone accounted for nearly 20% of the market.
However, Koryo Tours warned that “things may be more chaotic than usual” for the first batch of foreigners visiting North Korea again after a hiatus of about five years.
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AFP
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