After years of strict border closures and travel restrictions, North Korea has sprung a surprise and appears to be taking steps towards reopening its doors for foreign tourists.
Pyongyang closed its borders five years ago when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, and they have remained closed 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 and re-establish economic ties with key partners such as China and Russia. This could ease its self-imposed and increased isolation by the international community. The move could also indicate a need for foreign currency, a change in its pandemic policies or a broader attempt to re-engage with the international community on its own terms.
Representatives of two Western travel agencies, Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, crossed into North Korea on Thursday for the first time since the country closed its borders five years ago, Newsweek reports. The two companies, both based in Beijing, said they had gone from the Chinese border to North Korea’s Rason Special Economic Zone to discuss the logistics of upcoming tours.
The price of Rason
Both companies are offering guided tours to Rason starting in February. Rason, in North Korea’s northeast near the borders with China and Russia, has received little Western tourism.
According to Koryo, the region is home to North Korea’s first mobile phone network, first legal market and first 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 an otherwise state-controlled economy.
Koryo’s five-day itinerary includes visits to factories, foreign language and taekwondo schools, seaside resorts and a bank where visitors can open a North Korean bank account. The tour costs over 650 dollars per person and includes four nights in Rason.
The five-day Young Pioneer tour includes an overnight stay to explore Yanji’s nightlife, visits to a North Korean bank, factories, a foreign language school for student interactions, the three-way border point between China, Russia and the DPRK and local bars.
According to various reports, approximately 5,000 Western tourists visited North Korea annually prior to the Covid-19 border closure.
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US ban
Since 2017, US citizens have been banned from travelling to North Korea due to a State Department restriction imposed after the arrest and death of university student Otto Warmbier. Arrested 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 subsequently ruled that North Korea was responsible for his torture and death.
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