North Korea appears increasingly unlikely to reopen its borders to international tourists this year, contrary to optimistic claims by several travel agencies, according to informed industry sources.

Koryo Tours and KTG Tours announced in August that they had received confirmation from their North Korean partners that the remote Samjiyon region near the Chinese border would welcome foreign visitors again in December, nearly five years after the country slammed its doors shut due to COVID-19.

But the initial excitement has given way to creeping doubts, as the end of the year approaches with no official word from Pyongyang and new