Will North Korea-China Tourism Resume? "Expecting Normalization of Personal Exchanges"

Wang Yajun, the Chinese ambassador to North Korea, held a meeting with a senior North Korean tourism official and expressed hope for the prompt normalization of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries. Attention is focused on whether tourism between the two countries, which was cut off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will soon resume.

According to the official WeChat account of the Chinese Embassy in North Korea on the 22nd, Ambassador Wang met with Jeong Seong-il, head of the North Korean State Tourism General Bureau, at the embassy the previous day and conveyed this message.

Ambassador Wang evaluated, "Under the attention and strategic leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping and General Secretary (Supreme Leader) Kim Jong-un, China-North Korea relations have continuously developed, and exchanges and cooperation in the tourism sector between the two countries are showing a positive trend."

He added, "As COVID-19 eases globally, we hope that people-to-people exchanges between China and North Korea will be normalized promptly. Next year marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea, and I hope that the tourism departments of both countries will strengthen communication, deepen tourism exchange cooperation, and contribute further to the development of bilateral relations."

In response, Director Jeong Seong-il said, "The North Korean State Tourism General Bureau has maintained friendly exchanges with the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism and others for a long time, contributing to the promotion of tourism development between the two countries and strengthening the friendship of the peoples of North Korea and China. On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and North Korea, I believe that tourism exchange cooperation between the two countries will achieve new and significant development and inject new momentum into the development of bilateral relations."

Ahead of the opening of the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games, the North Korean delegation attended the official opening ceremony held on the 22nd in Hangzhou, China. [Image source=AP Yonhap News]

At the meeting, senior officials from the Chinese embassy, including the counselor and counselor-attached officials, attended, while on the North Korean side, key executives from major working departments under the Tourism General Bureau, such as the Tourism Planning Bureau, International Tourism Bureau, and Publicity Bureau, were present in large numbers.

North Korea closed its borders and completely suspended exchanges with China in January 2020 when COVID-19 spread in China. Then, as the COVID-19 situation eased in China, North Korea resumed the operation of freight trains between Dandong and Sinuiju in January last year, and this year, partial resumption of freight truck operations in some areas also took place.

Since last month, people-to-people exchanges have also begun to resume, such as dozens of North Korean athletes participating in the Kazakhstan World Taekwondo Championships passing through China.

However, full-scale exchanges such as tourism for the general public between the two countries have not yet resumed.

With the meeting between the ambassador representing China residing in North Korea and senior officials of the North Korean tourism authorities, there is a prospect that additional people-to-people exchanges, such as group tourism between the two countries, may soon be fully resumed.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.