Western Tour Operators Enter North Korea For First Time Since Pandemic

Rason became North Korea's first special economic zone in 1991 and has been a testing ground for new economic policies (Credit: AFP)

Western tour agencies entered North Korea for the first time on Thursday since the end of the pandemic, the companies said, voicing hopes the isolated country may soon reopen a border city to foreign visitors.

In January, travel agencies said the North would reopen the border city of Rason to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers in response to Covid-19.