North Korea Visa RequirementsFor United States passport holders

The United States government imposed a special validation requirement on all US passports for travel to North Korea effective September 1, 2017, following the death of 22-year-old Otto Warmbier. Warmbier, an American university student, was detained in Pyongyang in January 2016 after being accused of attempting to steal a propaganda poster, sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, and returned to the US in a coma in June 2017, dying days later. The US State Department subsequently prohibited US citizens from using their passports to travel to North Korea without a special validation from the State Department. North Korea has been the world's most isolated state since the division of Korea in 1945, ruled by the Kim dynasty (Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, Kim Jong-un) under a totalitarian regime with no independent civil society. Tourism was traditionally handled exclusively through state-approved tour operators like Koryo Tours, Young Pioneer Tours, and Uri Tours (all Western-operated China-based agencies), taking foreign visitors on tightly scripted tours of Pyongyang and select approved sites.

Before the 2017 ban: the standard route for non-US foreigners visiting North Korea was via Beijing on Air Koryo (North Korea's state airline) or by train from Dandong (China) across the Yalu River to Sinuiju, then by train to Pyongyang. All international visitors stay in government-approved hotels (primarily in Pyongyang) and are accompanied by government minders at all times. Since the 2017 US ban and the COVID-19 border closure (North Korea closed its borders completely in January 2020), no commercial tourism has taken place.

North Korea uses the North Korean won (KPW) for citizens, but foreign tourists historically used euros or Chinese yuan for purchases at designated tourist stores and restaurants. USD was not accepted by North Korean establishments (the only country in the world where USD was refused). Tourist prices for foreign visitors were generally higher than local prices, and visitors were only permitted to shop at designated tourism-only stores.

Before the 2017 US ban and 2020 border closure: Pyongyang was the center of any North Korea visit. The Kumsusan Palace of the Sun (mausoleum of Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-il, extremely formal dress code required), the Kim Il-sung and Kim Jong-un mosaic murals (deep bowing required), the Mass Games performances (Arirang Games, one of the world's most spectacular mass performance art events, held irregularly), the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum (Korean War from the North Korean perspective), and Mangyongdae (Kim Il-sung's birthplace). Pyongyang's monuments are extraordinary in scale and propaganda intent. For non-US foreigners, tours typically lasted 4-10 days with highly scripted itineraries.