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

North Korea will open its border to foreign tourists in December after almost five years, according to tour operators.

Koryo Tours, which is based in Beijing and has operated tours in North Korea for decades, released a notice stating tourism in 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.

North Korea was the first country to close its borders in response to COVID-19 in January 2020.

“While we have operated in the country for more than 30 years, we have never before encountered such a long border closure,” Koryo Tours, a company founded by two Britons living in China in 1993, said on its website. .

“Unfortunately, what this means for wider tourism – we still don’t know.

“Next, the opening will start in Samjiyon City. Although this may seem unusual, it is the main area for tourism in North Korea during the winter.”

Koryo Tours warned that the resumption of tourism may not go smoothly.

“For those hoping to visit on one of the earlier tours, we would like to point out that things may be a little more chaotic than usual,” he said.

“But of course, you’ll be in the safe hands of the North Korea tour experts here at Koryo Tours. Your safety is our priority.”

China-based KTG Tours, which specializes in travel to North Korea, also confirmed the reopening of the border for tourists to visit Samjiyon in winter.

The company assumes this will be in December, but said specific dates had not been confirmed.

“As for the rest of the country, including Pyongyang, there has been no official confirmation,” it said in an update on its website.

“Our personal opinion is that they will open very soon, but nothing has been confirmed about that.”

Australia’s official travel advice for North Korea is ‘do not travel’, which is the highest level.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Smartraveller advice page has not been updated to suggest the country is reopening to tourists.

Last updated in March, it says North Korea’s borders “remain effectively closed to Australians and most other nationalities”, adding, “tours to North Korea have been suspended until further notice” .

It warns Austrian travelers of rising tensions between North and South Korea, which are “technically still at war,” and that the Korean government restricts information.

“You can usually access international satellite TV channels in some resort hotels,” says Smartraveller.

“However, if the government shuts these down in a crisis, you may not know what’s going on. Monitor state broadcasts and, if possible, international media for signs of rising tensions.”

Samjiyon in North Korea

Samjiyon, near North Korea’s mountainous northern border with China, is a gateway town to Mount Paektu, where official accounts say the late supreme leader Kim Jong Il was born.

His son and successor, Kim Jong-un, has poured huge resources into developing the area, with the sprawling project including new apartments, hotels and a ski resort.

Signs of North Korea reopening began in the second half of 2023, with the resumption of international flights allowing stranded nationals to finally return home.

A group of Russian tourists visited in February this year, at a time when ties between Moscow and Pyongyang were straining.

Tourism in the north was limited before the pandemic, with tour companies saying around 5,000 western tourists visited each year.