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North Korea to reopen to tourists

Aug 15, 2024, 8:24am EDT
East Asia
FILE PHOTO: Foreign tourists take photos of the city skyline from the viewing deck at Juche Tower in Pyongyang, North Korea, September 11, 2018. Picture taken September 11, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
Danish Siddiqui/Reuters
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North Korea will reopen the country to tourists almost five years after it sealed its borders amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

North Korea will allow foreign visitors into the city of Samjiyon beginning in December. Tourism groups expect that Pyongyang will broaden the areas visitors can go in the future.

Nevertheless, the decision to reopen Samjiyon first is significant: The nearby Mount Paetku is tied to the origin story of the ruling Kim family, and the area was a popular destination for Chinese visitors coming across the two countries’ shared border. Tourism there provided the North with vital revenue amid international sanctions.

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Earlier this year, a handful of Russian visitors were allowed into the country, a sign that Pyongyang may feel comfortable enough about its alliances with China and Russia to open itself up with courting them in mind.

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