After a long COVID lockdown, North Korea has announced plans to resume international tourism in the northeastern city of Samjiyong from December 2024. There are also plans to expand to other parts of the country, according to tourism companies. The announcement comes after a long break in international tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has kept North Korea largely closed to foreign tourists since early 2020.
Koryo Tours, a company with more than 30 years of experience in North Korea, she seems happy about it. “Having waited more than four years to make this announcement, we are thrilled to see the return of North Korean tourism,” the operator said. Koryo Tours has never before experienced such a lengthy closure of a country's borders.
The operator, headquartered in Shenyang, China, also confirmed that tourists will be able to visit Samjiyong by the end of 2024. The city, located near the border with China, has been hailed by North Korea as a showcase of its "socialist utopia" with new apartments, hotels, a ski resort and various cultural and commercial facilities.
International flights to North Korea and from it resumed only last year. In February 2023, a small group of Russian tourists visited the country on a private tour, coinciding with strengthening ties between Moscow and Pyongyang. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare trip to Russia to meet President Vladimir Putin in September 2022, followed by Putin's visit to North Korea in June 2023. The Russian tour group included people from all over Russia, reflecting widespread interest in visiting North Korea.
In July 2023, Kim Jong Un took serious action against some senior officials for their "irresponsibility" Samjiyon project management. The city, which Koryo Tours previously visited in 2018 to help British TV star Michael Palin with a travel documentary, is being positioned as a model of a highly civilized mountain town.
More about Samjiyeon
Samjiyon is a city near the North Korean border with China. The city, part of North Korea's ambitious Phase 3A expansion project, was designed to showcase a highly civilized mountain city. In 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took action against officials for mismanaging the project, highlighting its importance to the regime.
Source: timesofindia
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