North Korea reopens to tourists after 5 years

And though the capital, Pyongyang, remains closed to tourists, “there are a lot of people who have been waiting to go to North Korea,” Greg Vaczi of Koryo Tours told NBC News on Tuesday.

He added that 20 tourists will be able to enter in time for the birthday celebrations.

North Korea is “desperate for foreign currency,” said Hazel Smith, a professor at London’s SOAS University, who lived in North Korea for two years. “Not just for oil, but basic technology like irrigation or health services.”

Before the pandemic, the country hosted hundreds of thousands of Chinese tourists who provided up to $175 million in extra revenue in 2019, according to the South Korea-based news outlet NK News.

However, the United States banned…