N. Korea reopens borders to foreigners after 3 years: Chinese state media

BEIJING (AFP): North Korea will allow foreign nationals to enter the country from Monday, Chinese state media reported, after over three years of Covid-induced isolation.

North Korea has been largely closed off from the outside world since early 2020, when it shut its borders in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, with even its own nationals prevented from entering.

But it is this month showing signs of re-opening, with leader Kim Jong Un travelling to Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and sending athletes to compete in the Asian Games in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou.

Citing a reporter, Beijing’s state broadcaster CCTV said Monday that North Korea had announced it would allow foreigners to enter its territory.

They will be subject to a two-day quarantine upon arrival, the report added.

It did not give further information about the source of the announcement.

North Korean state media did not carry any news of a border reopening.

One Chinese operator of tours to North Korea, Dandong Strait National Tours, told followers on social media site WeChat: “At the moment tours haven’t resumed. Wait patiently.”