China to launch more train tours to N. Korea

The first train tour of North Korea from the Chinese border city of Dandong will leave on May 26, China’s Xinhua news agency reported on Saturday, citing a travel agency in the northeastern Chinese province of Liaoning.

The four-day tour will visit the southern border city of Kaesong, Mt. Myohyang and the truce village of Panmunjom, which sits in the middle of the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas. The trip will cost between 2,000 yuan ($320) and 3,000 yuan ($480).

With the train tour, Dandong will join other border regions that have begun train tours to the North.

The tour from Dandong is the latest sign that the North is trying to earn hard currency from tourists, especially from China.

Last October, North Korea banned foreign tourists and imposed a 21-day quarantine on people arriving, including diplomats, because of concerns about the Ebola virus.

The restrictions were lifted in March.