North Korea will open its doors to foreign tourism in December after a nearly five-year hiatus caused by Covid-19, AFP reported.
"We have received confirmation from our local partner that tourism to Samjiyon and potentially the rest of the country will officially resume in December 2024," Beijing-based tour operator Koryo Tours said on its website.
Samjeon, near North Korea's mountainous northern border with China, is the gateway city to Mount Paektu, where propaganda claims North Korea's late supreme leader Kim Jong Il was born.
His son and successor, Kim Jong Un, invested huge resources in developing the area - new apartments, hotels and a ski resort.
Tour operator KTG Tours, also based in China, wrote on its Facebook page that "tourists will be able to go to Samjieon (Mountain Paektu) this winter."
North Korea closed its borders in early 2020 to protect itself from Covid-19.
A group of Russian tourists visited the region in February 2024.
Before the pandemic, tourism was also limited, but still around 5,000 Western tourists visited the country each year.
US citizens accounted for about 20% of tourists before Washington banned travel following the tragic death of American student Otto Warmbier.
Koryo Tours warned that after a nearly five-year hiatus, the first days of resuming tourism may not go particularly smoothly. | BGNES
