The following article is the last in a multipart series by Taylor Darby, a pseudonym for a foreign diplomat that worked in Pyongyang for an extended period of time before being forced to leave in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Views expressed in columns are exclusively the author’s own and do not represent those of NK News.

While North Korea remains closed to the outside world, one can expect the country to reopen again at some point, if and when authorities finally start vaccinating the population.

The immediate result of the borders reopening for people will be the return