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After being isolated from the rest of the world due to the spread of Covid, North Korea is expected to re-open its borders to carefully monitored tour groups after four years.
A British travel company anticipates that UK citizens will be able to come back within the first six months of the year.
In January 2020, North Korea shut its doors to all foreign visitors and has continued to restrict access for the past four years. However, this week, a group of Russian tourists traveled from Vladivostok to Pyongyang in what was referred to as a “test tour delegation” in preparation for a complete reopening.
The trip, run by the travel firm Vostok Intur, followed a meeting last September between North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, and Russian president Vladimir Putin. North Korea’s economy is believed to have shrunk significantly as a result of the Covid closure and international sanctions.
Koryo Tours, a company based in Beijing that was a top organizer for North Korea trips before the pandemic, stated: “This is a unique group from Russia traveling for a skiing excursion, not a typical tourist trip due to the connection between military cooperation of both nations, which enabled this trip – thus, outside the realm of traditional tourism processes.”
In the United Kingdom, Lupine Travel has a list of 150 eager travelers who are waiting to visit the self-proclaimed Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The founder of Lupine, Dylan Harris, stated to The Independent that they aim to have tours available for purchase within a month after the announcement of reopening. They also hope to have a trip running by June.
However, Mr Harris stated that the likelihood of successfully crossing the heavily guarded “Demilitarised Zone” between North and South Korea is not expected to occur in the near future.
Ten years ago, he forecasted that the border between the two countries may potentially open in five years, but he currently believes that it will not occur “in the near future”.
Prior to the outbreak of the pandemic, Lupine Travel had intended to organize inaugural train excursions from its headquarters in Wigan, located in the northwest region of England, to North Korea. The initial voyage to Pyongyang, scheduled for April 2020, was quickly booked to capacity and a second trip was arranged for September of that same year. Sadly, both trips were thwarted due to the closure of international borders.
Currently, the planned journey from Wigan to Pyongyang via Avanti West Coast, including the Warsaw to Moscow sleeper and the Trans-Siberian Railway to Irkutsk, cannot be carried out.
The Foreign Office cautions against non-essential travel to North Korea and cautions travelers, stating that the North Korean government has allegedly detained and denied access to consular assistance for some foreign citizens.
Although the daily routine in Pyongyang may seem peaceful, the security conditions in North Korea are volatile and can shift suddenly without any forewarning of potential actions by the North Korean government.
“This presents considerable dangers to British tourists and inhabitants.”
Source: independent.co.uk
