A small group of foreign tourists, including travelers from Greece, visited North Korea last week, marking the first international sightseeing trip to the country in five years, aside from Russian visitors allowed in last year, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday. The trip, which took place from February 20 to 24, signals that North Korea may be preparing to fully reopen its tourism sector in an effort to generate much-needed foreign currency for its struggling economy, AP said.
According to the report, the tour was organized by Beijing-based Koryo Tours and included 13 international tourists from Greece, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, France, Germany, Austria, Australia, and Italy. The travelers crossed into North Korea by land from China and visited Rason, a special economic zone in the country’s northeast. While in Rason, they toured factories, shops, schools, and statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the late grandfather and father of North Korea’s current leader, Kim Jong Un.
“Since January of 2020, the country has been closed to all international tourists, and we are glad to have finally found an opening in the Rason area, in the far north of North Korea,” Koryo Tours General Manager Simon Cockerell told AP. “Our first tour has been and gone, and now more tourists on both group and private visits are going in, arranging trips,” he added.
North Korea had sealed its borders in early 2020 as part of one of the world’s strictest Covid-19 lockdowns, barring tourists and expelling diplomats. However, since 2022, it has gradually eased restrictions.