Travel to North Korea

Flying to North Korea

Flights to North Korea's capital Pyongyang are almost always through the national airline Air Koryo (www.airkoryo.org), and are organised as part of your tour. All of these flights begin and end in Beijing, China. The only other airline to fly to North Korea is Air China (www.airchina.com), although this airline is rarely used by Western tour agencies.

Some of the tour agencies that offer itineraries within North Korea include Koryo Tours (tel: +86 10 6416 7544; www.koryogroup.com), Young Pioneer Tours (tel: +86 29 8621 2359; www.youngpioneertours.com) and Regent Holidays (tel: +44 20 3131 5057; www.regent-holidays.co.uk). However, once you're inside the country, you'll soon discover that all tours are essentially run by the same government-run Korean International Travel Company.

Airport Guides

Flight times

To Pyongyang: from Beijing - 2 hours.

To Beijing: from London - 10 hours; New York - 13 hours 30 minutes.

Departure tax

None.

Travelling to North Korea by Rail

There is a sleeper train service connecting Pyongyang and Beijing, and many tour agencies will offer this service in one direction. Twice a month, there is also a train that arrives in Pyongyang from Moscow.

Rail note

Note that rail passengers are subject to an inspection of the North Korea-China border, which may include a thorough luggage check and a check of all the photos you took in North Korea.

Driving to North Korea

It's not possible to enter North Korea by car. There is an irregular bus service from Dandong, China to Sinuiju, North Korea, but this is currently only available for Chinese citizens.

Getting to North Korea by boat

North Korea has a number of cargo ports, including Chongjin, Haeju and Hungnam, but the last passenger route (between Wonsan and Niigata, Japan) has been suspended indefinitely.