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.

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 could soon be opening up to tourists once again after five years of closed boarders - with tours including visits to a food processing factory and a sea cucumber farm

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.

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.

Rason, a city on the border with China, will open to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers over Covid-19.

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

North Korea announced it will reopen the country to tourism after nearly five years, following the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020.

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"

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