ISLAMABAD, AUGUST 16: Two specialist travel companies have stated that North Korea will return to foreign tourists in December 2024, after border limitations due to COVID-19 were in place for over five years.
The Beijing-based Koryo Tours stated on its website that it had assurance from its local partner that travel to North Korea, including Samjiyon, would resume in full in December 2024. Situated close to North Korea’s northern border with China, Samjiyon serves as a gateway city and is the location of Mount Paektu, the birthplace, according to official accounts, of the late supreme leader Kim Jong Il.
Although the precise dates are still pending, KTG Tours, another tour operator with headquarters in China, recently announced on Facebook that travelers would have the opportunity to explore the Samjiyon (Mount Paektu) region this winter.
The firm expressed hope that visitors will soon be able to visit Pyongyang and other locations.In an effort to fend off the COVID-19 epidemic, North Korea closed its borders in the beginning of 2020 and even prohibited its population from leaving for a number of years. But in the second half of 2023, there were indications of reopening when foreign flights resumed, enabling North Koreans who were stuck to get home.
Before the pandemic, tourism to North Korea was limited, with an estimated 5,000 Western tourists visiting each year. Koryo Tours cautioned that the initial phase of reopening might face challenges after nearly five years of closure.
