North Korea is set to reopen its borders to foreign tourists in December 2024, following nearly five years of strict closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Hotels and Ski Resort
This development was announced on Wednesday by two travel agencies specializing in North Korean tourism, marking a significant shift for the isolated nation, according to 20minutes.
Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based company, confirmed on its website that tourism to the city of Samjiyon, located near North Korea’s northern border with China, will officially resume in December.
Samjiyon is a key gateway to Mount Paektu, a site of deep significance in North Korean mythology and history. According to official North Korean accounts, the late leader Kim Jong-il was born near this mountain.
His son and current leader, Kim Jong-un, has heavily invested in developing the region, adding new apartments, hotels, and even a ski resort.
Americans Visited the Most
Another China-based travel agency, KTG Tours, echoed the news on its Facebook page, noting that while exact dates are still to be confirmed, tourists will be able to visit Samjiyon "this winter." The agency also hinted that Pyongyang and other locations might soon be accessible as well.
North Korea had sealed its borders in early 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, even preventing its own citizens from returning home for years.
Signs of reopening began to emerge in the latter half of 2023, with flights resuming to allow North Koreans stranded abroad to return. In February 2024, a group of Russian tourists visited North Korea, signaling the country’s warming ties with Moscow.
Before the pandemic, international tourism to North Korea was limited, with about 5,000 Western tourists visiting annually.
Americans made up nearly 20% of this market until the U.S. government banned travel to North Korea in response to the death of Otto Warmbier, an American student who was imprisoned in North Korea and died shortly after being returned to the U.S. in 2017.
