The first tour is set to take place Feb. 12 to 18, when major celebrations are planned for the birthday of the country's late leader Kim Jong Il, one of North Korea's biggest holidays.

North Korea has begun celebrations for the anniversary of late former leader Kim Jong-il's birthday, a national holiday, by opening a commemorative photo exhibition, according to state media on Tuesday.

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.

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

Koryo Tours opens bookings for North Korean border city trips to celebrate Kim Jong Il's birthday post-pandemic.

North Korea has begun celebrations for the anniversary of late former leader Kim Jong-il's birthday, a national holiday, by opening a commemorative photo exhibition, according to state media on Tuesday.

Beijing-based travel agency, Koryo Tours, said the February tour in Rason would be "the first trip back to North Korea since the borders closed in January 2020"