Russian visitors to North Korea saw a year-on-year decline in the first half of 2026, official data showed, amid skepticism in the Russian tourism industry about the DPRK’s prospects of being a major destination.  

A total of 2,589 Russian nationals entered North Korea in the second quarter of the year, the Federal Security Service’s (FSB) border agency reported last week, bringing the total number of entries through the first half of 2026 to 3,623.

The figure covering the first six months of the year was below the 4,039 entries recorded in the same period in 2025.

The overall decline came