North Korea prevented tourists from visiting, just a few weeks after the first Western tourists entered the country for the first time in five years.
North Korea was sealed at the start of the COVVI-19 pandemic at the beginning of 2020, and began to develop the restrictions in the middle of 2023.
It opened its doors to Russian visitors in 2024, but it was only last month that Western tourists were allowed to enter the east of Rason.
However, several travel companies now say that trips to the reclusive country have been canceled until further notice. Pyongyang did not give a reason for the sudden stop.
“I have just received news from our Korean partners that Rason is closed to everyone. We will keep you posted,” Facebook, based in China, KTG Tours, specialized in North Korean tours on Wednesday.
Young pioneering tours and Koryo tours were among the other agencies that announced the suspension.
These tours in April and May should refrain from reserving flights “until we have more information,” said Young Pioneer Tours in an article on Facebook.
On February 20, the first Western tourists began to arrive in Rason, a city intended by the North as a special economic zone, to test new financial policies.
The tour operators told BBC that visitors’ movements were even more limited than during pre -countryic trips – they had less opportunities to walk in the streets and talk to the inhabitants.
Telephone signals and Internet access were not available in the hermit either.
A head of the tour said he suspected that Rason had been chosen because the area is relatively contained and easy to control.
Earlier this week, Koryo Tours said he accepted international applications for the Pyongyang marathon for the first time in five years. The event is scheduled for April 6, but it is not clear if they can still be treated.
North Korea saw some 350,000 foreign tourists in 2019, 90% of whom were Chinese, according to the media.
