North Korea is set to reopen one city to foreign tourists in December after nearly five years of border closures due to the Covid pandemic, according to tour operators.
Two China-based tour companies have announced that tourists will soon be allowed to visit the northern mountainous city of Samjiyon.
“Currently, only Samjiyon has been officially confirmed, but we anticipate that Pyongyang and other locations will also open up!” Shenyang’s KTG Tours posted on its Facebook page on Wednesday.
Beijing-based Koryo Tours added that tourists may be able to visit other areas of North Korea in December.
“After waiting over four years to share this news, Koryo Tours is thrilled to announce the reopening of North Korean tourism,” the company stated on its website on Wednesday.
Koryo Tours informed the BBC that North Korean authorities are allowing tourists from any country, except South Korea, to join the trips. However, US citizens remain prohibited from traveling to North Korea due to a ban imposed by the US government.
Chad O’Carroll, CEO of US-based analysis firm Korea Risk Group, expressed skepticism regarding the reopening news.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” he told the BBC. “For now, I remain doubtful that we’ll see any significant developments in December.”
