North Korea to open border city to mark Kim Jong-il's birth anniversary

A tour operator has said it had opened bookings for trips to a North Korean border city to celebrate former leader Kim Jong-il's birthday, offering foreign tourists the first chance to visit since the pandemic.

Tour operators said on Monday in January that the North would reopen Rason, a city on the border with China, to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers in response to COVID-19.

Neither North Korea nor China have commented on the plans.

Koryo Tours said the February tour in Rason would be "the first trip back to North Korea since the borders closed in January 2020".

"This tour will take you to the must-see sites in Rason, North Korea's Special Economic Zone. Plus, you will travel to North Korea to celebrate one of the biggest holidays, Kim Jong-il's Birthday," the Beijing-based travel agency wrote on its website.

The birthdays of members of the ruling Kim dynasty are typically feted in the North with large-scale public celebrations.

The birthday of former ruler Kim Jong-il, father of current leader Kim Jong-un is marked as Day of the Shining Star on February 16 and typically features large-scale public celebrations, including military parades.

Itineraries on offer also included visiting North Korean factories, schools and a bank at which tourists can open their very own North Korean bank account.

However, although the tour is open for bookings, it is "not yet confirmed," Koryo said, adding it was "awaiting information from the Chinese authorities on the opening of the Chinese side of the border".

The tours were slated to start in China, with guests to be driven to the border with the nuclear-armed North.

Another travel agency, Young Pioneer Tours, a travel agency, also announced Rason tour packages in January.

North Korea shut its borders in early 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and later bolstered defences along its northern boundary with China to deter its nationals from re-entering the country illegally.

Pyongyang has since reopened the border to some trade and official delegations, and North Korea last year permitted Russian tourists to enter the country for the first time since the pandemic.

Chinese tourists who made up the bulk of foreign visitors to North Korea before the pandemic have not returned to the country.