North Korea is likely to soon lift an entry ban for foreigners that has been in place to prevent the spread of the Ebola virus into the reclusive country, a China-based travel agency specializing in tours to the North said Friday.

North Korea has barred foreign tourists from entering the country since last October, requiring all foreigners visiting the North to be put under quarantine for 21 days as a precaution against the spread of Ebola.

"We have been working closely with our partners in North Korea in regards to when the current Ebola travel restrictions will be lifted, and tourism to the DPRK (North Korea) will resume as normal," the Xian-based Young Pioneer Tours said in a statement posted on its website earlier this week.

"We are expecting the border to reopen very soon within the coming weeks," it said.

Last month, another China-based tour agency specializing in tours to North Korea, Koryo Tours, said that North Korea was expected to lift the Ebola-related entry ban on foreign tourists sometime during the first quarter of this year.

It was not the first time that North Korea closed its borders because of a deadly disease. In 2003, the North closed its borders for several months due to the spread of the SARS virus. (Yonhap)