Yes. It is very easy to go to North Korea. Even though you cannot just buy plane tickets, get your visa and fly to Pyongyang you can easily arrange a guided tour to North Korea with one of the official operators such as Korea Konsult. We can offer you group or individual tours to North Korea.

The only way to go to North Korea is to join a group or an individual tour organized by the official tour operator such as Korea Konsult

No. It is not possible to go to North Korea on your own. You can travel in North Korea only in an organized tour - either in a group or an individual tour.

Yes. You can have your own individual tour with tailored itinerary. You can ask Korea Konsult to arrange such a tour for you and let us know your preferences. Please see details here

It is not dangerous to travel to North Korea, you just need to observe local regulations and rules, and strictly follow your guides’ instructions. Generally, North Korea is one of the safest countries for tourists. Two Korean guides who are personally in charge of your safety always accompany you in the DPRK. All activities are planned in advance and well managed. Your hotel is safe as well. We have never had any issues with personal safety in Korea.
At the same time we would like to let you know that the DPRK has different legal system which features strict punishments for the delinquencies considered harmless in other countries. For example, behavior, which can be interpreted as “a crime against state”, can lead to imprisonment. Be especially careful with images of the leaders (don’t throw them in a garbage bin, or don't fold a newspaper across the leaders’ face), leaders’ statues (don’t show any sign of disrespect to multiple statues across the country, it is better to miss visit to a statue then appear not respectful enough) and political posters. Never go to “staff only” areas, or disobey your guide’s instructions. Don’t bring to North Korea any religious or political literature, photo or video.
Generally, exercise common sense before doing something out of the normal sightseeing routine.
We also would like to draw a special attention of our American travellers – based on our experience we can tell that in North Korea Americans generally enjoy less tolerance of any kind of misbehavior than most other nations. Therefore US citizens should be especially careful.

No. Even though South and North Korea have common borders there is NO ANY transport communication (no train, no flight, no bus or open highway) between South and North Korea. Nobody can travel directly from Seoul or any other city in South Korea to the DPR Korea.

From South Korea you can ONLY visit border with North Korea: DMZ, JSA and Panmujom. To go to North Korea you should use China or Russia as a transit country

There is no problem for Israeli citizens to visit North Korea.

US citizens: in July 2017, the U.S. government announced that American citizens would no longer be permitted to visit North Korea as tourists. The travel ban took effect on September 1, 2017.

You should book your group or individual tour at least 1 month in advance. We need time to arrange your visa and prepare everything for your trip.
Please note if you are a single traveler in a group tour and don't want to pay a single supplement surcharge you should have a roommate. The later you book the tour the harder it is to find a roommate for you. Roommates are given on first-come first-served basis. Please book your tour well in advance

Yes. It is possible to take train to Korea:

There are several major air gateways to the DPRK Korea. The most popular one is Beijing, there are several flights every week from Beijing to Pyongyang operated by AirChina and AirKoryo.
There are also regular flights from Vladivostok (Russia) and Shenyang (China). Occasionally there are charter flights from other big cities in the region such as Shanghai (China)

AirKoryo is the state-owned national flag carrier airline of North Korea. We have never experienced any safety-related issues with AirKoryo flights since we started operating trips to North Korea in 2003. According to the flight schedule AirKoryo operates a modern jet fleet on its Beijing – Pyongyang route:

• Tu-204 is a modern aircraft launched in production in 1995. Air Koryo was officially handed over to the first Tu-204 on 27 December 2007. This aircraft complies with noise regulations described in Chapter 3 of Supplement 16 to ICAO and meeting all current European and ICAO requirements. This aircraft allowed AirKoryo to recommence its flights to the EU in 2010
• Antonov-148 is a modern aircraft that took its maiden flight on 17 December 2004. The plane completed its certification programme on 26 February 2007 and it complies with all current European requirements

During the peak seasons AirKoryo may use its older aircrafts for additional flights to/from Beijing. However, during the past 3-4 years we didn’t see these older aircrafts on AirKoryo’s international routes.

Cabin luggage allowance is 8kg. For the economy class check-in luggage allowance is:

• Beijing-Pyongyang: 23kg
• Pyongyang-Beijing: 23kg
• Vladivostok-Pyongyang: 30kg
• Pyongyang-Vladivostok: 20kg

No. Tourists are not allowed to enter North Korea using ferry

No. Tourists are not allowed to enter North Korea using their own transport - car, motorcycle or bicycle

You can enter North Korea on foot via several check-points in Sino-Korean border: Quanhae and Namyang. Please refer to our tours in Free Economic Zone Rason for more details

Yes. There is no problem for ex-military personnel to go to North Korea. If you are a current military personnel please let us know details of your duties, your fighting arm, your rank and we will see if there is any problem. Most probably there will be no any issue

No, journalists are not allowed to enter North Korea on a tourist visa. Journalists should be invited by the authorities and should apply for special journalist visa

No, there aren’t any required vaccinations for travel to North Korea

It depends. Most of our tourists use visa-free transit rules which are explained below. If your trip doesn't meet requirements for these rules then you need to apply for a Chinese visa in advance (please refer to our visa page here for the details):

The 24-hour rule: Foreigners (regardless of nationality) who have confirmed onward tickets and seats on international flights and directly transit through China and stay for no more than 24 hours after arrival do not need for to apply for Chinese visa. Visa-free transit is NOT applicable if you arrive or leave China by train or any other mode of transport than air.

The 72-hour rule: As of January 1, 2013, citizens of 53 countries do not need to apply for a visa to China if they:

• Are traveling in transit via Beijing to third countries (eg North Korea) from Beijing Capital Airport
• Have confirmed onward flights out of Beijing to a third country (eg North Korea or your country of destination after North Korea) within 72 hours after arrival in Beijing. Please have a hard copy of this ticket with you!
• Do not leave Beijing during these 72 hours

We cannot apply for Chinese visa on your behalf. If you need Chinese visa (please refer to the visa-free transit rules at our visa page here for the details) you should apply for the visa yourself. We will send your DPRK tour confirmation which is required for your Chinese visa application.