North Korea to begin admitting foreign tourists (again)

Disney World? A Viking cruise down the Danube? A drive from coast to coast with stops at every roadside attraction? When getting out of the house and going on vacation, the options are virtually limitless. Virtually, but not absolutely — particularly for adventurous travelers interested in visiting one of the most isolated countries on Earth, North Korea. The country closed its borders entirely five years ago during the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

That may be about to change.

For the first time in half a decade, the avowedly communist enclave is preparing to welcome tourist groups back into parts of the country as early as this coming December, according to China-based tour operators Koryo Tours. "We have received confirmation from our local partner that tourism to Samjiyon and potentially the rest of the country will officially resume in December 2024," the group said in a press release. Described as "the most famous region in North Korea in the winter for tourism," Samjiyon is "the most significant and sacred place" for the entire Korean peninsula, Koryo said. The agency predicts it will have a "finalized itinerary for the area and more information as well as dates and prices in the coming days and weeks."

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As the infamously secretive and insular North Korea begins once again accepting foreigners into its midst, what does this mean for the region — and the world? 

'Not a full reopening'

The decision to make Samjiyon the first spot open to foreign tourism is "significant" Semafor said. The tourism-associated area has been a popular destination for Chinese visitors coming across the two countries' shared border in the past, helping North Korea generate "vital revenue amid international sanctions." 

North Korea has dubbed Samjiyon its "'model of a highly-civilized mountain city' with new apartments, hotels, a ski resort and commercial, cultural and medical facilities," Reuters said. Earlier this summer, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reprimanded a group of senior officials overseeing construction in the region for their "irresponsibility," declaring the city would become an "oasis of our people and the world people and make tourism a major driving force of regional development" while he personally inspected the project, The Korea Times said. 

This winter's planned tourism opportunity is "not a full reopening of the country back to what it was, or more than what it was," Koryo Tours' Simon Cockerell cautioned during a podcast taping at The Independent. "It's a specific opening of one, relatively obscure-up-till-now area." 

Moreover, this coming December will not be the first opportunity for tour groups to enter the country since the Covid lockdown. Last year, "small tour groups from Russia" were granted entry to North Korea "amid Kim's deepening partnership with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin," CNN said. That exchange is more "associated with the North Korean support for the Russian war effort," said Cockerell. Just this month, Russia sent North Korea more than 400 goats as part of a "wide-ranging deal covering sectors including education, agriculture and tourism," Politico said. 

'We can only have peace when this travel ban is lifted'

For as much as North Korea's impending tourism opening may seem like the sort of opportunity an adventurous traveler should jump on, do not expect to be able to hop on a flight to Pyongyang just yet. It will likely be "only Russian tourists and possibly Chinese visiting in any real numbers at first" if North Korea does not offer "direct Samjiyon flights to a neutral connection country like Mongolia," Chad O'Carroll, CEO of US-based analysis firm Korea Risk Group, said at BBC. Even if such countries do, American passport holders are banned from visiting the communist country: The U.S. State Department announced the renewal of its prohibition on travel "to, in or through the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" earlier this month. 

"We can only have peace when this travel ban is lifted," Cathi Choi, co-director of Women Cross DMZ, said at The Hill. "In addition to divided family members, everyday people in North Korea, South Korea and the United States will all suffer from these consequences." 

Allowing tourism "can only bring positives," said Cockerell. "The cure for isolation is not more isolation."