A remote part of North Korea is set to reopen to tourists this month, the first organised tour open to international visitors since the country’s borders closed in January 2020.

North Korea has reopened its touristic border city of Rason near China after it was closed in 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a tour operator. "There has been news that Rason, located in the northeast of North Korea, has officially opened for tourism," said Koryo Tourism Agency in a notice to its customers on Monday.

Tour operators said in January that the North would reopen Rason, a city on the border with China, to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers in response to Covid-19

This marks the first time North Korea has opened its borders to international tourism since January 2020. Tourists will be invited to Rason and have the opportunity to pay their respects to Kim Jong Il.

A tour operator said it had opened bookings for trips to a North Korean border city to celebrate former leader Kim Jong Il's birthday, offering foreign tourists the first chance to visit since the pandemic.

For the first time in over five years, foreign tourists can now visit North Korea, just in time for late leader Kim Jong Il's birthday celebrations.

Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based tour operator, has opened bookings for trips to Rason to celebrate Kim Jong Il's birthday. "This tour will take you to the must-see sites in Rason, No