A new North Korean travel company targeting foreign medical tourists has been established, ruling party daily the Rodong Sinmun reported Friday.

The Treatment Tourism Exchange Company (치료관광교류사) will work with the top government health bodies to offer foreign tourists the ability to receive surgeries and cosmetic procedures at top state-run hospitals, it said.

Tapping into additional segments of the tourist industry — which has not directly been targeted under UN and U.S. sanctions — is likely yet another way the country seeks to overcome trade restrictions and earn foreign currency.

The Friday article was published in the online version of