A tour operator is hoping to take western tourists back to North Korea by the end of this year after authorities indicated they will reopen part of the country to foreign visitors.

Simon Cockerell of Beijing-based Koryo Tours told The Independent’s travel podcast that it had been advised by its partners in North Korea that Samjiyon in the far north, close to the Chinese border, will be open to all nationalities from December.

Samjiyon is a new tourism complex, close to Paektu, North Korea’s tallest mountain.

Simon said access would likely be via land from China.

North Korea was the first country to close its borders to foreign visitors at the start of the pandemic, in January 2020, and it is the last to reopen to international tourists.