Popular American exercise app suspends user’s account over North Korea hike | NK News
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September 16, 2026Sep 16, 2026

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Popular American exercise app suspends user’s account over North Korea hike

Despite restoring account, Strava says it cannot offer service inside country due to US sanctions on DPRK

A popular American exercise app banned a North Korea tour guide’s account after she shared a hike she went on in the country last month, an experience that may serve as a cautionary tale for foreign runners looking to compete in the upcoming Pyongyang marathon.

Koryo Tours guide Zoe Stephens told NK News she used the California-based app Strava to record a five-kilometer hike in the North Korean border city of Rason, where she was leading a tour group during a brief reopening to foreign visitors in March.

But the next time she went to use the popular service for