North Korea has been slowly easing its harsh pandemic-era curbs and entry restrictions as part of its efforts to revive its economy. But it still has not reopened its borders to foreign tourists, except for a relatively small number of Russians who visited earlier this year as ties boomed between the two countries.
A return of Chinese travellers would likely provide a much bigger source of revenue as they represented about 90 per cent of international tourists visiting North Korea before the pandemic. In 2019, a record 300,000 foreign tourists visited North Korea, earning the country between US$90 million and US$150 million, experts say.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said Wednesday its director-general visited North Korea from Jul 13 to Jul 16, in the first trip by a UN principal since 2019. It said Director-General Qu Dongyu’s trip was meant to strengthen its partnership with North Korea and address food security and nutrition challenges in the country.
It was not immediately clear when North Korea would allow the return of international staff of UN agencies. North Korea’s stringent pandemic curbs included the departure of diplomats and foreign nationals.
