Fatma Zehra Solmaz
22 July 2025•Update: 22 July 2025
ISTANBUL
South Korea is weighing the possibility of permitting individual travel to North Korea as part of President Lee Jae-myung’s wider effort to mend strained inter-Korean ties.
"The government is reviewing and implementing its North Korea policy with the aim of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and improving inter-Korean relations. Various measures are under review as part of this process," said Koo Byung-sam, the spokesperson for South Korea's Ministry of Unification, the Korea Times reported.
Koo addressed a local report claiming the tourism plan was discussed at a recent National Security Council meeting led by the president. He neither denied the report nor confirmed any specific measures.
The presidential office said that "various plans are under review to improve inter-Korean relations" but did not provide additional information.
South Korean tours to North Korea have been halted since 2008, after a South-Korean tourist was fatally shot by a North Korean soldier at Mount Geumgang. Attempts to restart the program have repeatedly failed.
Tourism is one of the few areas in North Korea not subject to UN Security Council sanctions. South Korean officials believe individual travel would comply with international sanctions, as it doesn’t involve direct cash transfers or significant financial transactions.
The Lee administration’s push for tourism aligns with its broader effort to reengage Pyongyang and ease tensions on the peninsula. In his first month, Lee reversed several of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol’s hardline policies, including halting loudspeaker broadcasts and discouraging leaflet campaigns.
Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said North Korea might welcome Seoul’s tourism offer due to its “urgent need of foreign currency” and the fact that tourism is “not restricted under current international sanctions.”
Still, Cho noted that any tourism initiative would likely proceed under the assumption that South Koreans are treated as foreign nationals.
Though Seoul says individual tourism is permissible, analysts note the Lee administration may tread carefully due to concerns over Washington’s reaction amid talk of possible US-North Korea dialogue.
Seoul’s renewed tourism push coincides with early struggles at North Korea’s Wonsan-Kalma resort, which halted foreign access weeks after its July 1 launch. A site manager told state TV they are “not accepting foreign tourists temporarily” to improve services for domestic visitors.
No official reason was given for the suspension, but experts point to poor infrastructure and Wonsan’s remoteness.
Cho said “Russian tourists have little incentive” to choose pricey North Korea tours over cheaper options, adding Pyongyang will soon see it “cannot rely only on Russia or China” and needs South Korean tourists.
