For the first time in five years since the COVID-19 pandemic, North Korea recently allowed Western group tourists to enter the country, only to abruptly suspend the program, AFP and Kyodo News reported on Wednesday.
According to the reports, Koryo Tours, a North Korea-focused travel agency headquartered in Beijing and owned by a British national, announced via its website and Facebook that it had been informed of the temporary closure of tourism in the Rason Special Economic Zone.
The agency described the situation as unprecedented, stating that it worked to understand the circumstances and would provide updates as more information became available.
Simon Cockerell, the head of Koryo Tours, told AFP that those currently in North Korea could complete their planned trips.
Another North Korea-focused travel agency, Young Pioneer Tours, founded by a New Zealander in Beijing, also posted on its website that its partners had informed that tourism in Rason had been temporarily suspended.
A representative from KTG Tours, a Spain-based agency, also confirmed the suspension of Rason tourism but told AFP that neither the reason for the halt nor its expected duration was known.
In February, a Chinese travel agency that had advertised tours to Rason did not respond to AFP‘s inquiries about whether it had been affected by the suspension.
North Korea wholly sealed its borders in January 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It reopened to foreign visitors for the first time in September 2023, but group tourism was initially restricted to Russian visitors only.
However, at the end of February, North Korea began accepting Western group tourists in the Rason Special Economic Zone. Western media outlets reported on the experiences of French, German, and British travelers who had visited the area through these agencies.
On February 13, North Korea resumed tours for Western visitors departing from China. This marked the first time in five years that the country had accepted tourists outside Russia since its pandemic-related border closure.
Koryo Tours recently announced that it was accepting applications for the Pyongyang International Marathon, which is scheduled for early April.
North Korea-focused media outlet NK News, citing experts, reported that the North Korean regime is likely blocking the spread of external information due to paranoia over ideological contamination. As a result, it remains uncertain whether North Korean tourism will return to pre-pandemic levels.