North Korea To Resume International Tourism In December

After a long pause due to COVID-19, North Korea is set to reopen its doors to international tourists this winter. China-based tour operators reportedly announced that tourists will soon be allowed to visit the mountainous northern city of Samjiyon. The isolated country sealed itself off at the start of the pandemic in 2020. North Korea started to scale back restrictions only in the middle of last year.

Travel companies KTG and Koryo Tours announced that their North Korean partners have informed them of government plans to reopen certain areas to tourists, reported CNBC. The companies said that the trips to Samjiyon, a mountain city near the Chinese border, will be permitted by December, and other areas of North Korea could also be potentially opened up for travel. "Having waited for over 4 years to make this announcement, Koryo Tours is very excited for the opening of North Korean tourism once again," Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based tour operator, mentioned in its website. 

The tour operator also said that North Korea has been working for years to develop and build tourism facilities in Samjiyon. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has earlier hailed the city as “a model of highly-civilised mountain city." According to CNBC, another major tourism site is being constructed on North Korea's eastern coast. 

The cost of an introductory tour to North Korea varies but typically ranges from 600 euros to 1500 euros per person, according to Koryo Tours. Republic of Korea nationals are the only nationalities prohibited from visiting North Korea as tourists. Meanwhile, the United States government has a strong advisory against travel to the country. North Korea's move is probably intended to attract Chinese travelers, who constituted the majority of international tourists visiting North Korea before the pandemic.