North Korea abruptly halts tourism just weeks after reopening

For reasons that are unclear, North Korea has suddenly stopped foreign tourists from visiting.

The move comes just weeks after the first Western tourists entered the secretive state in East Asia for the first time in five years, the BBC reports.

Like many countries, North Korea halted foreign tourism at the start of the COVID pandemic in early 2020. The country began to loosen some restrictions in 2023.

The country first opened up to Russian tourists in 2024, and just last month, international visitors from other countries, including Britain, Canada, France and Germany, were then allowed into the remote, eastern city Rason, which the North Korean government has designated a special economic zone.

During that trip, the visitors were escorted to factories, shops and statues of late North Korean leaders. Unlike Russian visitors, they were not allowed to visit Pyongyang, the capital, reports say.

Tour operators said Wednesday that travel to North Korea was cancelled until further notice. It isn’t clear why North Korea has closed again or how long the suspension will last.

“We have been informed that Rason is temporarily CLOSED,” Koryo Tours, a tour operator based in Beijing, said in a statement Wednesday (March 5). “It’s an unprecedented situation.”

China-based Young Pioneer Tours also confirmed the news a Facebook post. “We recommend that those planning tours in April and May refrain from booking flights until we have more information,” the company wrote, adding that refunds are available for tours that are cancelled.

Prior to COVID, North Korea had hosted hundreds of thousands of Chinese visitors who spent some $175 million in 2019, according to the South Korea-based news outlet NK News.

Recently, North Korea has been deepening its ties with Russia. In 2024, almost 900 Russian tourists visited North Korea, the South Korean Unification Ministry said, citing Russian data.

The United States banned its citizens from travelling to North Korea in 2017 after the death of American student Otto Warmbier.

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