North Korea tours offered on founder’s birthday

Foreign travel agencies specializing in North Korea tourism have started offering tour packages that give travelers a peep into April events being prepared to celebrate the 100th birthday of Kim Il-sung, founder of the reclusive communist state.

Korea Konsult, a Swedish tour operator, said on its website that it will conduct three types of Kim Il-sung birthday tours in April. It also said that the tour programs were almost fully booked as of Sunday.

A short tour of the “100th Birthday of Kim Il Sung” runs for five days, four nights in North Korea, plus one night on the train, from April 12-16/17. It will cost about 1,200 euros ($1,600), including a round-trip airplane/train ticket between Beijing and Pyongyang.

Other packages range from about 1,100 euros ($1,450) to 1,700 euros, depending on the duration of the stay.

The 10-day Kim Il-sung birthday tour, priced at about 1,700 euros, includes trips to Hamheung and Mount Geumgang. On April 15, the itinerary will include visits to Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where Kim and his son Kim Jong-il’s embalmed bodies are displayed, Pyongyang Zoo, Mansudae Monuments, Metro (five stations), Kimilsungia Flower Show, Revolutionary Opera & Mass Games, Mass Dancing Evening and Kaeson Youth Funfair, its website said.

The Swedish tour agency said it will offer group tours to North Korea this year 19 times from January to October. The tour packages range from four-to-five-day trips to 10-day trips, costing about 1,100-1,200 euros.

Goryeo Travel, a Chinese travel agency in Beijing, also offers four types of group tours to Pyongyang priced between 1,190 euros to 2,890 euros.

North Korean airliner Air Koryo had tried to open a Pyongyang-Berlin direct route last year, to attract foreign tourists who can participate in events in April to celebrate the initial year of becoming a “strong nation” in 2012.

But the airliner could not reach an agreement with Berlin’s international airport, news reports said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)