North Korea welcomes Russian tourists, likely first since pandemic
Newsy
The tour underscores deepening cooperation between the two countries following a meeting last September between their leaders.
A group of Russian tourists arrived in North Korea on Friday, likely the first from any country to enter the isolated state since the pandemic.
The tour underscores deepening cooperation between the two countries following a meeting last September between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin at a cosmodrome in Russia's Far East.
Many Russians now struggle to travel to Europe and the United States because of sanctions applied to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. In October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he would recommend North Korea as a vacation destination.
South Korea's government said it has no record of North Korean state media reporting on tourists entering the country since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tour group will visit the capital, Pyongyang, and then go skiing, said Inna Mukhina, the general director of the Vostok Intur agency, which is running the tour. Vladivostok airport's online timetable shows an Air Koryo plane took off for Pyongyang at 1:39 p.m. local time Friday.
