The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
Britons warned against North Korea visits as ‘nuclear threat’ remains
Rising tensions on the Korean peninsula over the past few months have led to the Government issuing an advisory to British people not to travel to North Korea. Following a series of nuclear and ballistic missile tests by the communist state, the Foreign Office (FCO) this week updated its stance on visiting the country, advising against “all but essential travel”.
The FCO said: “There remains a threat of further missile or nuclear tests, which could lead to further instability in the country.”
It added that the security situation in the country could change without warning and with no advance notice given by the authorities. “This represents a significant risk for British visitors and residents,” it said.
The FCO advisory means that tour operators running trips to North Korea are likely to cancel them as the restrictions invalidate the travel insurance of anyone visiting – unless they are already there.
The totalitarian nation’s tourism industry is small – some 100,000 visitors a year – but it is growing. In 2015, authorities announced ambitious plans to increase its arrivals to two million by 2020.
Simon Cockerell, the general manager at Koryo Tours, which runs trips to the country, says that about 5,000 people visit from Europe each year, 1,000 of them British. “The market grew from our foundation in the early Nineties up to 2012, when it peaked,” he said. “The years from 2013 to 2016 were somewhat flat, 2017 is lower due to a lot of the political/ military dramas, the [imprisoned US student Otto] Warmbier case, the general bad vibes – worse than usual, even – surrounding North Korea.”
Cockerell says he plans to continue running tours despite the FCO advice – something Abta, the travel association, advises against. A spokesman for Abta said: “It is vital that travellers follow [the FCO] advice, even if the destination remains on sale. People who travel to North Korea against the Foreign Office advice will not be covered by travel insurance.”
Cockerell said the situation on the ground in North Korea remains much the same. “We stay in touch with the UK embassy there and other agencies as well,” he said. Next week he will make his 165th trip.
“Different people go for different reasons but the vast majority go because they are interested, engaged, well-travelled, intelligent and questioning individuals,” he said.
“The highlights most obviously are specific places – Pyongyang, certain monuments, some mountains, iconic areas – but above all it is the interaction with people in North Korea. It is limited, perfunctory sometimes, but these people are given no agency in the outside world. The press focus on one man alone [Kim Jong-un] is understandable but it does a disservice to the 25 million others who live there.”
The FCO also updated its travel advice to South Korea but did not warn against visiting. “There has been no change to the UK government’s assessment of security in South Korea at this time,” it said. 20 incredible facts about North Korea revealed at telegraph.co.uk/tt-nkfacts