According to tour operators, North Korea will reopen one city to foreign tourists in December after nearly five years of border closures due to the Covid pandemic.
The mountainous northern city of Samjiyon will soon be open to tourists, according to at least two China-based tour operators.
North Korea, a reclusive nation, closed itself off at the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020 and only began to ease restrictions in the middle of last year.
Due to the country’s nuclear program and international sanctions, food shortages were made worse by the border closures, which also prevented the import of essential goods.
Only Samjiyon has been officially confirmed, but we believe other locations, including Pyongyang, will open as well! KTG Tours of Shenyang posted a message on Wednesday to its Facebook page.
In December, tourists could “potentially” visit other parts of North Korea, according to Beijing’s Koryo Tour.
“Having trusted that more than four years will make this declaration, Koryo Visits is extremely invigorated for the kickoff of North Korean the travel industry by and by,” it expressed Wednesday on its site.
The BBC was informed by Koryo Tours that, with the exception of South Korea, the North Korean authorities were allowing tourists from any nation to join the trips. However, US citizens are prohibited from visiting North Korea.
Chad O’Carroll, Chief of US-based examination firm Korea Hazard Gathering, hailed questions around the returning declaration.
He told the BBC, “I will believe it when I see it.” I don’t think there will be any real change in December for the time being.
According to state media, Mr. Kim revealed plans in July to rebuild Samjiyon’s airport, transform a military ski base into a resort, and construct new railways and hotels for foreign tourists. Samjiyon has undergone extensive redevelopment in recent years.
At the time, Mr. Kim stated that visitors from “friendly” nations would be targeted by plans to “revitalize international tourism.”
However, Mr. O’Carroll pointed out that Samjiyong’s redevelopment is still in its infancy.
He stated, “I can imagine only Russian tourists and possibly Chinese tourists visiting in any real numbers at first if it does get completed in time.” unless [the Democratic Republic of Korea] provides Samjiyon flights that are direct to a neutral connection country such as Mongolia.”
Samjiyon is at the foot of Paektu, North Korea’s tallest mountain. This mountain is on the border of China and North Korea and is popular during the winter.
According to propaganda from Pyongyang, the mountain is where Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea, fought Japanese occupation forces and started the revolution. He is the grandfather of Kim Jong Un, the current president.
Additionally, it asserts that Kim Jong Il, the incumbent, was born in Paektu.
According to an article published in July by KCNA, the Mount Paektu-Samjiyon region was intended to function as a “four-season mountainous tourist area to meet the cultural and emotional needs of the people on the highest level and revitalise international tourism.”
Since the beginning of 2024, North Korea has only allowed Russian tourists to enter the country, despite the growing ties between the two countries.
One of the very few nations to permit the return of citizens who had been prevented from doing so by border controls, North Korea only granted this permission in August of last year.
