Passengers land at the airport in Pyongyang in 2017, on a flight from the Chinese city of Dandong. File Photo by KCNA/UPI
SEOUL, Aug. 15 (UPI) — North Korea is set to allow international tourism to resume by the end of the year, a pair of China-based tour operators said, nearly five years after the isolated state sealed its borders to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In separate announcements Wednesday, Koryo Tours and KTG Tours said that tourism to the mountainous northeastern city of Samjiyon, near the border with China, will open in the winter.
Samjiyon is located in the foothills of Mount Paektu, a site considered by both North and South Koreans to have an almost mystical significance.
“We have had confirmation from our local partner that tourism to Samjiyon and potentially the rest of North Korea will officially resume in December 2024,” Beijing-based Koryo Tours wrote in a blog post.
“Our partner informed us that the official itinerary and dates will be announced in the coming weeks,” the blog said.
KTG Tours, based in Shenyang, said in an online posting that “borders are set to open in winter, presumably December, 2024.”
“Two years ago, our Korean partners sent us new programs, hotels and facilities available to travelers in Samjiyon,” the post said.
“As for the rest of the country, including Pyongyang, there has been no official confirmation,” it added. “Our personal opinion is that they will open too soon, but nothing has been confirmed regarding this.”
North Korea has been renovating tourism facilities in Samjiyon in recent years, according to state-run media. Last month, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un visited the area and touted plans for a remodeled airport, a ski resort and new hotels targeting “friendly foreign guests.”
Kim “gave important instructions for building a tourist resort in the world-famous Mt. Paektu for our people and the world people and making tourism a major driving force of the development of the region,” the official Korean Central News Agency said.
In North Korean lore, Mount Paektu is revered as a stronghold in the fight for independence from Japanese imperialism and the birthplace of Kim Jong Il, the father of Kim Jong Un. In ancient Korean mythology, it is the sacred birthplace of the Korean people.
Samjiyon was a popular destination for Chinese tourists before North Korea sealed its borders in January 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The country remained completely closed for more than three years until a limited reopening began last August.
The first post-pandemic tour group — around 100 visitors from Russia — arrived in Pyongyang in February, amid strengthening ties with Moscow.
The U.S. State Department classifies North Korea as “Level 4: Do Not Travel” in an advisory on its website. U.S. passports are invalid for travel to, in, or through North Korea unless specially validated by the department.