North Korea will open border to certain foreign tourists for the first time in five years

August 16, 2024

Kim Jong Un’s hermit kingdom will lower its drawbridge once again.

North Korea will allow visitors to enter at least part of the country starting in December after the reclusive country shut its doors to the outside world for nearly five years because of strict COVID-19 restrictions.

Tourism in the northeastern city of Samjiyon — and possibly the rest of the country — would resume by the end of this year, tour companies revealed this week.

“Having waited for over 4 years to make this announcement, Koryo Tours is very excited for the opening of North Korean tourism once again,” one Beijing-based company said on its website.

Another travel agency, KTG Tours, also announced this week tourists could visit Samjiyon this winter.

“Exact dates to be confirmed,” the company wrote on Facebook. “So far just Samjiyon has been officially confirmed but we think that Pyongyang and other places will open too!!!”

North Korean leaders have been building what they claim is a “socialist utopia” in Samjiyon, a city near the Chinese border. The area is supposed to be a “model of highly-civilized mountain city” that has new apartments, hotels, ski resorts and other institutions, such as medical and cultural.

Travellers stand before an Air Koryo aircraft at Pyongyang airport on April 17, 2017 — Koryo Tours published an announcement stating tourism to the city of Samjiyon, near the China-North Korea border, and potentially the rest of the country will resume, citing confirmation from its local partner. AFP via Getty Images

Pedestrians walk past the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang on August 15, 2024, as North Korea marks its 79th National Liberation Day, commemorating the end of Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War II — Last updated in March, it says North Korea’s borders “remain effectively closed for Australians and most other nationalities,” adding, “tours to North Korea are suspended until further notice.” AFP via Getty Images

While international flights in and out of the hermit kingdom run by despot dictator Kim Jong Un restarted last year and a small group of Russian tourists received a private tour in February, the Asian nation’s borders have been sealed since 2020.

The open borders still exclude American citizens.

All US passports are invalid to travel in, out, or through North Korea unless special permission is granted by the Secretary of State, according to the State Department.

The US agency warns Americans face serious risk of arrest and long-term detention in North Korea.

Former President Donald Trump shook hands with Kim during a historic meeting in 2019 at the demilitarized zone that divides North and South Korea.

With Post wires