North Korea will reopen to international tourism this winter, tour operators say

CNN —

North Korea is to reopen limited international tourism by the end of 2024, nearly five years after it completely sealed the country’s borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, two tour companies with connections to the isolated country have announced.

Beijing-based Koryo Tours and Shenyang-based KTG Tours both made separate online announcements Wednesday, saying tour groups would be allowed to visit the mountainous city of Samjiyon, the purported birthplace of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

“We have received confirmation from our local partner that tourism to Samjiyon and likely the rest of the country will officially resume in December 2024,” Koryo Tours said, adding that itinerary and further details will be finalized “in the coming days and weeks.”

In a separate Facebook post, KTG Tours also said exact dates for the tours were to be confirmed. “So far just Samjiyon has been mentioned but we think that PY [Pyongyang] and other places will open too!”

Samjiyon straddles the Chinese border and is close to the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, Mount Paektu, an active volcano of paramount importance and historic significance to both North and South Koreans, as it is considered the cradle of the Korean people.

The ‘Paektu’ bloodline

Though South Koreans are restricted from visiting the North, South Korea’s former president Moon Jae-in and then first lady Kim Jung-sook visited the top of the mountain with Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju in 2018, underlining the symbolism of the mountain.

Visiting the summit of Mount Paektu is akin to making a religious pilgrimage for North Koreans. The fabled “Paektu” bloodline is what gives the ruling Kim family legitimacy, say observers, who note Western