North Korea appears to have paused visits from Western tourists (Image: Getty)
has stopped tourists visiting weeks after for the first time in five years. Travellers from the West were allowed into the country in February after Pyongyang continued to lift restrictions introduced during the pandemic.
But tour companies have now said trips to the isolated country have been cancelled, with no reason given for the pause. KTG Tours posted on Facebook yesterday (March 5): “Just received news from our Korean partners that Rason is closed to everyone. We will keep you posted.” Koryo Tours posted on the same platform: “There has been news that the Rason border may be temporarily closing for tourism. We are currently working to confirm and understand the situation with our partners and will announce any further updates as soon as possible.”
Koryo Tours is one operator notifying travellers of the pause (Image: Koryo Tours/Facebook)
The operator said it is waiting for more information and hoped to confirm what is happening soon.
Young Pioneer Tours is among other agencies to have announced the pause, according to the , which has reported the firm advising those with tours in April and may to refrain from booking flights.
It comes after the first tourists from the West arrived in the city of Rason on February 20.
Phone signals and access to the internet were unavailable, with tour operators telling the visitors’ movements were restricted even more than before the pandemic.
News of the pause comes as South Korean and US troops prepare to start joint military drills next week to boost their readiness against threats from the hermit state.
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The pause comes just days after North Korea reopened its borders to Western tourists (Image: Getty)
North Korea sees major South Korean-US military training as a rehearsal for an invasion and often responds with missile tests and fiery rhetoric.
Pyongyang hasn’t responded to the military drills announcement, but earlier this week, Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accused Washington of upping the ante and threatened to ramp up measures “threatening the security of the enemy at the strategic level”.
She pointed to the recent temporary deployments of US strategic assets such as an aircraft carrier and long-range bombers in South Korea and other military activities involving the US.
Observers say North Korea could test-fire powerful nuclear-capable missiles designed to strike the US mainland and American military bases in the region.