North Korea Tourism Comes One Step Closer

After years of strict border closures and travel restrictions, North Korea appears to be taking steps toward reopening to foreign tourists.

Why It Matters

North Korea closed its borders five years ago when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and they have remained shut ever since, further isolating the country, known by its nickname the Hermit Kingdom, from the rest of the world.

However, the opening of its borders could indicate that North Korea is seeking to revive its limited tourism industry, reestablish economic ties with key partners like China and Russia, and ease its self-imposed isolation. The move could also signal a need for foreign currency, a shift in its pandemic policies, or a broader attempt to reengage with the international community on its own terms.

What To Know

Representatives from two Western travel agencies, Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, crossed into North Korea Thursday for the first time since the country closed its borders five years ago.

The two companies, both based in Beijing, said they had crossed the Chinese border into the North Korean special economic zone of Rason to discuss logistics for upcoming tours.

Both companies are now offering guided tours of Rason from February. Rason, in northeastern North Korea near the Chinese and Russian borders, has seen little Western tourism.

According to Koryo, the region is home to North Korea’s first mobile phone network, legal marketplace, and card payment system. Designated as the country’s first special economic zone in 1991, Rason has served as a testing ground for limited market-driven reforms within the otherwise state-controlled economy.

Koryo’s planned five-day itinerary includes visits to factories, foreign-language and Taekwondo schools, seaside recreation areas and a bank where visitors will be able to open a North Korean bank account. The tour starts from €705 per person and spends four nights in Rason, with the first trip departing on 12 February.

The tour is in honor of the country’s late leader – Kim Jong Il’s – birthday celebrations.

Young Pioneer’s five day tour includes an overnight stay exploring Yanji’s nightlife, visits to a North Korean bank, factories, a foreign language school for student interactions, the China-Russia-DPRK tri-border point, and local bars.

All visitors to North Korea are required to join government-approved guided tours. Independent travel is not allowed, and tourists are constantly accompanied by official guides who regulate interactions and movement. Visitors must adhere to strict rules, including restrictions on photography, speech, and engagement with locals. The tour starts from €645 per person and spends four nights in Rason, with the first trip departing on 16 February.

Roughly 5,000 Western tourists visited North Korea annually before the COVID-19 border closure, according to multiple reports.

Since 2017, U.S. citizens have been banned from traveling to North Korea under a State Department restriction imposed after the arrest and death of college student Otto Warmbier.

Detained in 2016 for allegedly stealing a propaganda poster, Warmbier was released in a vegetative state and died six days after returning home. A federal judge later ruled that North Korea was responsible for his torture and death.

In August 2024, North Korea said it hoped to send in the first Western tourists by the end of the year.

What People Are Saying

Koryo Tours wrote in a blog post on its website: “After waiting over 5 years since the closure of the North Korean borders to tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic back in January 2020, we’re happy to finally enter North Korea. The country is not yet fully open to tourism and this is a special trip for staff only. We will use our time in Rason to discuss with our partners as well as check out any new tourism sites and find out any key North Korea tourism updates.”

Young Pioneer Tours wrote in a post on Facebook: “This visit marks a great milestone, as we are the first non-Russian foreigners to set foot in the country since its borders were sealed five years ago due to the pandemic,” the post said.

What Happens Next

It is unclear if other international travel companies will be allowed to conduct guided tours in North Korea in the near future. U.S. citizens, or anyone with a U.S. passport, are still banned from entering the country.