North Korea has stopped tourists from visiting, just weeks after the first Western tourists entered the country for the first time in five years. North Korea sealed itself off at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, and started to scale back restrictions in the middle of 2023.

North Korea has once again closed its borders, suspending foreign tourism just weeks after the secretive state welcomed its first Western visitors in five years.

North Korea's doors have closed to tourists again, just weeks after Western tourists were allowed to enter for the first time in five years.

Before the February reopening, only Russian tourists were allowed limited group tours since September 2023. The first Western visitors began arriving in Rason, a city designated by the North as a special economic zone, on February 20. The entry, however, wasn't without restrictions and challenges.

North Korean officials have suspended foreign tourism visits to the insular nation about a month after lifting restrictions for Western tourists, but did not say why the change was made.

Tour group operators say the North Korean city of Rason has been closed to foreign visitors, following a recent trip there by 13 international tourists. View on euronews

North Korea has stopped tourists visiting weeks after reopening its borders to westerners for the first time in five years. Travellers from the West were allowed into the country in February after Pyongyang continued to lift restrictions introduced during the Covid pandemic.