North Korea opened its doors to foreign participants at the Pyongyang International Marathon on Sunday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a six-year hiatus.
The event has drawn attention to whether the opening is a symbolic gesture toward a broader move to reopen the country to foreign tourism on a full scale.
North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon was held to mark the anniversary of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung's birth, which falls on April 15.
“The event featured full marathon, half marathon, 10km, and 5km races, and included athletes from North Korea, China, Romania, Morocco, and Ethiopia, as well as marathon enthusiasts from various countries and regions around the world,” KCNA said in a Korean-language dispatch.
In the elite marathon race, North Korean runners swept the boards with the men's and women's titles going to home-based competitors. The host country also swept the podium at the half marathon, taking gold, silver and bronze in both men's and women's events. Among amateur competitors, Polish runners swept the top three spots in the men's marathon, while a Hong Kong competitor took the women's amateur event, KCNA added.
“Around 200 foreign athletes from 46 countries are said to have participated, raising attention to whether this could signal the full resumption of foreign tourism,” Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson for the Unification Ministry, said of the marathon during a regular press briefing Monday.
“There was a recent case where North Korea resumed tourism for foreigners, only to suspend it again. The fact that the Pyongyang marathon race was held as scheduled under such circumstances is deemed as North Korea’s intention to resume tourism to foreign visitors," Koo added.
The marathon took place about a month after North Korea abruptly closed the special economic zone in the northeastern border city of Rason to foreign tourists — excluding South Korean and US citizens — in early March, following a brief reopening that began on Feb. 20. Rason was the first region in the country to reopen to tourism during the pandemic.
Young Pioneer Tours, an independent tourism agency specializing in tours to North Korea, said the country remains officially closed to tourism as of Sunday, however.
Koryo Tours, the sole foreign operator licensed to register amateur entrants, said Sunday that this year's 2025 Pyongyang Marathon took place on the same day, and over 500 participants took the capital's roads.
“Among them were around 200 international amateur runners, making this one of the most diverse editions yet — with many countries represented,” Koryo Tours, an independent British tour operator based in Beijing, said on its website.
According to a list of medal winners put together by Koryo Tours, the elite category featured athletes from at least two countries — North Korea and Ethiopia. The amateur races drew participants from at least 13 countries: Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Professional runners were invited by North Korean authorities in accordance with strict qualifying times, according to a previous notice from North Korea’s Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports.
But amateur participants had different registration procedures: those from East and Southeast Asia, except for Singapore and Hong Kong, registered through North Korea's state agencies, while the others, including Singapore and Hong Kong, were required to register through Koryo Tours.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
