North Korea is tentatively reopening its country to tourism following the closure of its borders during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. A tour operator has begun reopening bookings to see Rason, a city that neighbors the countries of China and Russia,

The first tour is set to take place Feb. 12 to 18, when major celebrations are planned for the birthday of the country's late leader Kim Jong Il, one of North Korea's biggest holidays.

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This marks the first time North Korea has opened its borders to international tourism since January 2020. Tourists will be invited to Rason and have the opportunity to pay their respects to Kim Jong Il.

North Korea has reopened its touristic border city of Rason near China after it was closed in 2020 at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a tour operator. "There has been news that Rason, located in the northeast of North Korea, has officially opened for tourism," said Koryo Tourism Agency in a notice to its customers on Monday.

Tour operators said in January that the North would reopen Rason, a city on the border with China, to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers in response to Covid-19

Beijing-based travel agency, Koryo Tours, said the February tour in Rason would be "the first trip back to North Korea since the borders closed in January 2020"

North Korea announced it will reopen the country to tourism after nearly five years, following the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020.

Koryo Tours opens bookings for North Korean border city trips to celebrate Kim Jong Il's birthday post-pandemic.