Single-day bus tours offered from Yanji City (China) to Hoeryong City (North Korea) have reportedly begun.
A source familiar with North Korean affairs in China told Daily NK on June 14 that the bus tours were slated to begin on June 17, departing from Yanji Northeast Asia Bus Terminal at 8am, and entering North Korea via the Sanhe customs office.
“The tour plan includes visits to the Kim Jong Suk statue, Hoeryong Revolutionary Museum, and the Schoolchildren’s Palace. Lunch is provided and sightseeing along the Tumen River and a children’s kindergarten performance are also included in the plan,” she said.
“The cost of the tour is 399 RMB (about 66,000 KPW), which is not unreasonable. I don’t know exactly how many people have signed up so far, but North Korean residents are wondering why Chinese people would want to visit the sites included in the tour plan, as they were primarily built to promote the North Korean regime and its achievements.”
It is rumored that Yanji Northeast Asia travel agency is responsible for attracting customers but the Hoeryong regional government is quietly in control of overall procedures.
“It seems that the North Korean regime is trying to revitalize the tourism business as there are not many ways to earn foreign currency in the midst of sanctions,” a source in North Hamgyong Province said.
North Korea has been proceeding with the construction of modern streets in Hoeryong City, the hometown of Kim Jong Suk (Kim Jong Il’s mother), which the North Korean authorities refer to as a ‘sanctuary of paradise on Earth.’ The regime has constructed a ‘food street’ in order to attract Chinese tourists, and has been receiving them on and off since 2014.
“At the time, the Chinese tourists were guided toward particular restaurants immediately after visiting the statue of Kim Jong Suk and her old hometown house. The tour mainly comprised eating and drinking and not much sightseeing, as the main purpose of the tours was to earn currency,” the source added.
