“I’d love to go, because this is probably the most closed-off place you’ll ever have the opportunity to do something like this,” said one vacationer.
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The first group of tourists allowed to enter North Korea since the pandemic began is expected to arrive in the isolated country soon.
Most European countries have banned Russians from entering the country for tourism because of the invasion of Ukraine, but North Korea has made an exception.
Inna Mukhina, general director of the Vostok Intur agency, which organizes the tour, said the Russian tourists will visit the capital Pyongyang and then go skiing.
In October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would recommend North Korea as a vacation destination for Russian tourists. Many of them are currently struggling to travel to Europe and the United States due to sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine.
Is North Korea a popular vacation destination?
Mukhina said there are “a lot” of people who want to join the tour to North Korea, adding that the group is made up of people from all over Russia.
She also said that children from a Russian school aimed at training Olympic champions are part of the group.
Russians visit North Korea for a variety of reasons, Mukhina said, with some interested in the opportunity to visit the isolated country, while others are interested in skiing and snowboarding.
“We love skiing,” Galina Polevshkova told The Associated Press at Vladivostok airport, just before boarding a plane to Pyongyang. “I really want to go there, because this is probably the most closed-off place you’ll have the opportunity to do this,” she said.
This group is not a traditional tourist group, but a “test tour delegation” that could pave the way for other Russian tourist groups.
What do travelers do while traveling?
Russia’s state news agency TASS reported that the group will visit monuments in Pyongyang, including the Tower of Juche Thought, named after North Korea’s guiding philosophy of “juche,” or self-reliance.
Tourists then head to the northern Ma-Sik Pass on the east coast, home to North Korea’s most modern ski resort.
“At (Masik Pass) you will find yourself in a true paradise for winter sports enthusiasts!” The website of the Vostok Intur agency has mushroomed. “Here we have great slopes of varying difficulty to meet the needs of both experienced skiers and beginners.”
How much does a ski trip to North Korea cost?
The package price for the upcoming Russia tour is about 700 euros per person, according to Tass and his travel agency.
Why is North Korea so tolerant of Russian tourists?
North Korea is gradually easing pandemic-era restrictions and opening its borders as part of efforts to rebuild an economy battered by lockdowns and persistent U.S.-led sanctions. In August, South Korea’s intelligence agency told lawmakers that North Korea’s economy will shrink every year from 2020 to 2022, with gross domestic product falling 12% last year from 2016.
Despite the borders being opened, the trip was still expected to come from Asia, where North Korea’s first post-pandemic tourists were expected to come from China, North Korea’s largest diplomatic ally and economic pipeline. It was a surprise to observers.
The visit therefore underlines deepening cooperation between Moscow and North Korea, following a meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in Russia’s Far East last September. It became.
The Kim-Putin summit deepened global suspicions that North Korea is supplying Russia with conventional weapons for the Ukraine war in exchange for Russia’s high-tech weapons technology and other support.
TASS reported that the trip was arranged based on an agreement between Primorye Governor Oleg Kozhemyako and North Korean authorities.
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Kozhemyako visited Pyongyang in December to discuss strengthening economic ties as part of a series of bilateral exchanges since the Kim-Putin meeting. Ahead of his visit, he told Russian media he planned to discuss tourism, agriculture and trade cooperation.
The expansion of ties between North Korea and Russia comes as both countries are locked in separate conflicts with the United States and its allies, with North Korea over its nuclear program and Russia over its long-running war with Ukraine. There is.
