Rumor has it that North Korea is about to reopen its doors to Chinese tourists, relevant departments: "have not received formal notice"

[By Guancha Observer Network, Deng Jun, edited by Zhao Qiankun]

During the Qingming holiday, a message spread online stating that "North Korea is scheduled to officially open and receive Chinese tourists for travel on April 24, 2025." A travel agency in North China told the Observer Network that it has noticed this message but has not yet received further notices from relevant government departments.

The screenshot of the online circulated document shows, "The North Korean International Travel Agency, Koryo Travel Agency, and Youth Travel Agency, among other major travel agencies, have decided, after consultation with the North Korean government and the North Korean National Tourism Bureau, to officially open on April 24, 2025, to receive Chinese tourists for travel to North Korea (American and Israeli tourists are not accepted). Please notify the major Chinese organizations and travel agencies through the North Korean representatives in Shenyang, Dandong, and Beijing. Due to the North Korean national marathon event held on April 6, 2025, the original opening date of April 9, 2025, has been postponed according to the decision of the North Korean National Tourism Bureau meeting and will now be officially opened on April 24, 2025."

The Observer Network learned from Shandong Heyi International Travel Service that its Dalian branch has received related messages. According to Ruan Li, the head of the Dalian branch of Shandong Heyi International Travel Service, the staff of Dandong China International Travel Service (the local receiving agency in Dandong, mainly responsible for North Korean tourism business) has forwarded the document to her and informed her to wait for the formal notice from the relevant departments of the Dandong municipal government.

In response to the Observer Network's phone inquiry on the afternoon of April 7, a staff member of the Dandong Culture and Tourism Bureau said that they currently have not received the online circulated documents and messages.

The Observer Network also learned from relevant staff of the China Travel Agency Association that there has been no word about any member unit receiving the above-mentioned online circulated documents.

Since North Korea began vigorously developing its tourism industry, its tourism revenue has increased significantly and become one of the main sources of foreign exchange income.

Professional institutions have assessed that from 2014 to 2019, North Korea's tourism revenue increased by approximately 400%. According to a report by the U.S. website NK News, in 2019, a record-breaking 350,000 Chinese tourists visited North Korea, providing tourism revenue of up to $175 million.

The Observer Network noticed that at the beginning of 2020, North Korea announced the closure of its borders and strictly restricted the entry of foreign personnel. However, since 2024, the North Korean government has begun to take a positive attitude toward the restart of international tourism, and there were reports in August 2024 that "North Korea would reopen its inbound tourism to foreign tourists in December 2024."

In February 2025, several foreign media outlets, including Agence France-Presse (AFP) and U.S. NK News, reported that the Chinese travel agency Zhi Xing He Yi had been specially approved by North Korea and organized a tour to Roason City in North Korea on February 24.

Ruan Li told the Observer Network that before the pandemic, some teams of the Dalian branch conducted North Korean tourism business, but due to certain specific reasons, North Korea often temporarily closed its borders, so the number of Chinese visitors was not many.

Regarding the message that "North Korea is about to officially open to receive Chinese tourists for travel," Ruan Li said, "At present, many travel agencies are taking a wait-and-see attitude. There are occasional fake messages like this; we rely on the final notice from the Dandong Culture and Tourism Bureau."

On April 6, 2025, the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon was held in North Korea, marking the first time in six years that the country hosted the event. According to North Korean media reports, participants included foreign athletes from countries such as China and Romania.

The Observer Network will continue to follow when North Korea will officially open to receive Chinese tourists for travel.

This article is an exclusive contribution of the Observer Network and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7490536504599626279/

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