Close to a thousand North Koreans entered Russia in the first quarter of 2024, according to official data from Moscow, while a similar number of Russian nationals visited the DPRK amid burgeoning tourism and bilateral exchanges. 

A total of 812 North Korean citizens crossed the Russian border between January to March,  according to immigration data from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). This marks a new high since the first quarter of 2020, after which the number of DPRK visitors dropped to near zero due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

Similarly, 870 Russians entered North Korea in the first three months of