North Korea, Which Hosted Western Tourists and Recruited Marathon Participants, Suddenly Announces 'Closure' After 3 Weeks

North Korea Reopens to Western Group Tours After Five Years of COVID-19
Travel Reviews from French, British, and German Tourists Introduced
North Korean Travel Agencies Announce "Rason Tourism Temporarily Closed"

North Korea, which had accepted Western group tourists for the first time in five years since the spread of COVID-19, reportedly abruptly suspended the reopening just three weeks after it began. On the 5th (local time), AFP reported that "Koryo Tours, a British-owned North Korea specialist travel agency headquartered in Beijing, China, announced on its website and Facebook that 'Rason tourism has been temporarily closed.'"

German Luca Pertmengues, who recently posted a 4-night 5-day North Korea travel review video. Instagram

Koryo Tours stated, "This is an unprecedented situation, and we are trying to understand it; we will provide updates as soon as more information becomes available." Simon Cockerell, CEO of Koryo Tours, told AFP that those currently in North Korea "will complete their trips as planned." Another North Korea specialist travel agency, Young Pioneer Tours, established by a New Zealander in Beijing, also announced that "partners have informed us that Rason tourism is currently temporarily suspended," and KTG Tours, headquartered in Spain, reportedly said, "We do not know the reason or how long it will last."

North Korea completely closed its borders in January 2020 to prevent the entry of COVID-19. It allowed foreign entry for the first time in September 2023 but had only approved group tourist entries limited to Russia. However, from the end of last month, it began accepting Western group tourists in the Rason Special Economic Zone, and reviews from French, German, and British tourists who visited Rason through travel agencies have been introduced in the media.

Koryo Tours recently announced that it is recruiting amateur participants for the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon, scheduled for April 6. The package includes the Pyongyang Marathon and tours of various places in Pyongyang, with a price of 2,195 euros (about 3.3 million KRW) per person, excluding visa issuance fees and marathon participation fees. With North Korea reopening Western tourism and holding an international marathon, there were expectations that it would fully open the doors to Pyongyang tourism, but the sudden suspension has left the North Korean tourism industry bewildered.

Regarding this, North Korea specialist media NK News cited experts saying, "Since the North Korean regime is blocking the spread of external information due to paranoia about ideological contamination, it is uncertain whether North Korean tourism will recover to pre-COVID-19 levels."