North Korea is reopening its borders to tourists, after a four-month ban imposed over fears of Ebola entering the isolated Asian country. But the government is still taking measures against the virus and tourists will be forced to endure daily medical tests, including a temperature check.
Tour operators that bring foreigners to North Korea announced that tourists will be checked every morning, before leaving from the hotel, by medical staff at the Pyongyang Friendship Hospital, which deals with foreigners and VIPs. Visitors from the west African epicenter of the disease will be placed in quarantine, while everybody else will be kept under medical observation for 21 days.
“From our discussions with our DPRK diplomatic contacts, we understand “medical observation” to mean that the foreigner will be allowed to enter the country and undertake normal activities, but must have their body temperatures checked twice a day by doctors for the duration of their stay. This should not affect traveler’s plans to visit the country for tourism or business,” says an announcement from Uri Tours, one of the companies that takes people to North Korea.
According to the tour company, the first trip will take place at the end of March, as they need a minimum of two weeks to process visas.
The Ebola travel restrictions were imposed last October to stop the virus from spreading, and included a strict quarantine for foreign aid workers and diplomats. The measures also included banning foreign amateur runners from participating in North Korea’s 2015 Pyongyang Marathon. Even though the marathon re-opened for them, the tour agencies already canceled hundreds of bookings.
About 500 foreign runners took part in the race last year and an estimated 1,500 westerners visit the country annually, despite the foreign government’s advise against visiting the Asian country. The U.S. State Department “strongly recommends against all travel by U.S. citizens to North Korea”, while the UK government mentions that the situation could change quickly when it seems calm.
It is not the first time when North Korea closes its borders because of a fears of diseases. In 2003 the borders were closed for several months due to the spread of the SARS virus.