North Korea Opens Borders to Tourists for First Time in Years

Foreign tourists have visited North Korea over the past week, becoming the first Western travelers to enter the country in five years.

Experts suggest that this latest visit signals North Korea's potential move toward fully reopening its international tourism sector in an effort to generate much-needed foreign currency and support its struggling economy.

Beijing-based travel agency Koryo Tours organized a five-day trip from February 20 to February 24, taking 13 international tourists to Rason, a northeastern North Korean border city that hosts a special economic zone.

Simon Cockerell, the general manager of Koryo Tours, stated that the group, consisting of travelers from the UK, Canada, Greece, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Australia, and Italy, entered North Korea by land from China.

During their visit to Rason, they toured factories, shops, schools, and the statues of former leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the grandfather and father of the current leader, Kim Jong Un.

Mr. Cockerell noted, “Since January 2020, North Korea has been closed to all international tourists. We are pleased to have finally found an opening in the Rason area, located in the far north of the country. Our first tour has concluded, and more travelers—both in groups and on private visits—are now making their way in.”

In February 2024, North Korea welcomed around 100 Russian tourists, marking the first group of foreign visitors allowed into the country for sightseeing since the pandemic.

This move surprised many analysts, as China—North Korea’s primary trading partner and key ally—was expected to be the first country to send post-pandemic tourists.

Before the pandemic, tourism was a crucial source of foreign currency for North Korea, which remains heavily sanctioned due to its nuclear program.

North Korea is also preparing to open a large tourism complex on the east coast in June.

According to Lee Sangkeun, a researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy—a think tank affiliated with South Korea’s intelligence agency—the return of Chinese tourists will be essential for North Korea’s tourism industry to thrive. Before the pandemic, Chinese visitors made up over 90% of the country’s international tourists, with as many as 300,000 visiting annually.