Zhixing Heyi, a Beijing-based travel agency, is currently offering a three-night, four-day tour to Rason, North Korea's easternmost border region, departing on Feb. 24.
The agency said it had received an official notice from North Korea's tourism authority stating that the country will "soon begin welcoming overseas travelers" starting with Rason as part of a pilot tour program.
"Travelers can sign up for the tour, but spots are limited to about 10," said a staffer from the agency.
The packaged group tour, led by a Chinese-speaking guide, includes transportation, accommodations at a three-star hotel, meals, and other processing fees for visas and insurance.
According to the agency, tourists will gather in the border town of Hunchun on Feb. 24 before crossing into North Korea via a bridge over the Yalu or Amnok River. After about an hour of customs clearance, they will take a bus for another hour to reach Rajin, a city in the Rason Special Economic Zone.
The itinerary includes a taekwondo demonstration, visits to a foreign-language bookstore, the Kimilsungia-Kimjongilia greenhouse, a facility dedicated to cultivating flowers, an art museum, and the Rason Schoolchildren's Palace, as well as tours of food processing factories, a rock island and a duck farm.
Other China-based agencies, such as Koryo Tours and Young Pioneer Tours, are also accepting bookings for travel programs to North Korea.
After shutting its borders in January 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, North Korea has recently begun allowing limited tourism, starting with visitors from Russia.
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