Most visitors to

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

must obtain a

visa Visa most commonly refers to: * Travel visa, a document that allows entry to a foreign country * Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Vi ...

in advance from one of the North Korean diplomatic missions. All visitors holding ordinary passports (except

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

) must obtain a visa prior to entering North Korea. All visitors (except citizens of South Korea) who travel to North Korea for tourism purposes require prior authorization from a travel agency registered with the State General Bureau of Tourist Guidance.

Visa requirement

North Korean tourist visas are issued in the form of a tourist card for tourists, or on a separate paper for other types of visas. No

stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

are stamped inside one's actual passport.

Visa exemption

Since 2014, citizens of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

holding ordinary passports visiting only the

Tongrim County Tongrim County is a ''kun'', or county, in coastal southwestern North P'yŏngan province, North Korea. It borders P'ihyŏn and Ch'ŏnma to the north, Sŏnch'ŏn to the east, Ch'ŏlsan to the southwest and Yŏmju to the west. To the south, it ...

in a tour group can stay there for up to 2 days. They may also visit

Sinuiju Sinŭiju (; ) is a city in North Korea which faces Dandong, Liaoning, China, across the international border of the Yalu River. It is the capital of North Pyongan Province, North P'yŏngan province. Part of the city is included in the Sinuiju Spe ...

for a day trip without a visa.

Non-ordinary passports

Holders of non-ordinary passports issued to citizens of the following countries can enter North Korea without a visa, for a stay up to the duration listed below: _{D - Diplomatic passports}
_{O - Official passports}
_{S - Service passports}

South Korea and United States

Citizens of

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

seeking to visit North Korea cannot use regular passports to travel to North Korea. They must instead submit a North/South Korea visitation verification certificate or special authorization as well as a departure card to the North Korean immigration officer at the port of entry and go through immigration inspection in North Korea. They must also seek authorization from the respective governments prior to departure.

Statistics

Visitors with citizenship of the Russian Federation

References

External links

* {{Visa policy by country

Foreign relations of North Korea