ASIATODAY.ID, PYONGYANG – North Korea has reopened visits to foreign tourists. Russian and Chinese tourists are most interested in visiting the country.
In fact, a group of tourists from Russia arrived in North Korea on Friday, February 9 2024. They were the first tourists from an international country to enter this isolated country since the Covid-19 pandemic occurred.
The Russian tourists’ tour realized increased cooperation between the two countries following last September’s meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in the Russian Far East.
Many Russians now have difficulty traveling to Europe and the United States because of sanctions imposed on Russia following their military operation into Ukraine.
Last October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he would recommend North Korea as a holiday destination.
The South Korean government stated that it had no reports from North Korean government media covering tourists entering the country since the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to general director of Vostok Intur agency Inna Mukhina, which runs tours to North Korea, the group of Russian tourists will visit the capital, Pyongyang, and then go skiing. Online schedules at Vladivostok airport showed an Air Koryo plane taking off for Pyongyang at 13:39 local time on Friday.
The group departed from Vladivostok airport in Russia’s far east. Mukhina said there were many people who wanted to take part in the tour, adding that the group contained tourists from various places in Russia including Moscow and St Petersburg as well as Kaliningrad, which is located on the border of Poland and Lithuania.
The tourist group also includes children studying skiing at a Russian school aimed at creating Olympic champions.
Mukhina stated that the reasons why Russians visit North Korea are different. Some people are attracted by the opportunity to visit a closed country, while others are more interested in skiing and snowboarding.
“We love skiing,” said Galina Polevshchikova at Vladivostok airport shortly before boarding a flight to Pyongyang.
“I really wanted to go there because it’s probably the most private place where you have the opportunity to do this,” he continued.
The group is not a traditional group of tourists, but rather a test tour delegation that could pave the way for other Russian tourists, Mukhina said.
The trip came as a surprise to Asia watchers, who expected the first post-pandemic tourists to North Korea would come from China, the North’s biggest diplomatic ally and economic lifeline.
According to a TASS report published in January, the group of tourists will visit monuments in Pyongyang such as the Tower of Juche Ideas, which draws from the North Korean philosophy of juche, or self-reliance.
Tourists will then continue on to Masik Pass on the east coast, home to the country’s most modern ski resort. The tour costs $750 per person, according to TASS and the tour agent.
TASS reported that the trip was arranged based on an agreement reached between Oleg Kozhemyako, governor of the Primorye region, and North Korean authorities.
Kozhemyako traveled to Pyongyang in December 2023 for talks on improving economic ties as part of bilateral exchanges since the Kim-Putin summit.
Ahead of his trip, he told Russian media that he planned to discuss tourism, agriculture and trade cooperation.
Chinese tourists accounted for about 90% of foreign visitors to North Korea before the pandemic occurred. In 2019, around 300,000 foreign tourists visited North Korea, generating revenues of between $90 million and $150 million. (ATN)
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