North Korea Travel Guide

North Korea requires a visa from a North Korean diplomatic mission for essentially every visitor holding an ordinary passport, South Koreans aside, and for tourism specifically, that visa depends on prior authorization from a travel agency registered with North Korea's State General Bureau of Tourist Guidance. Independent travel simply is not permitted, a tourist visa requires booking a complete package covering hotel accommodation, transfers, guides, and meals, arranged before the visa itself can even be issued. Layered on top of all that, North Korea has been largely closed to international tourism since early 2020, and as of 2026 there was no clear timeline for when, or whether, that reopens more broadly.

For US citizens specifically, none of the above is actually available: since 1 September 2017, US passports cannot lawfully be used for travel to, in, or through North Korea, a restriction renewed through 31 August 2026, and violating it is a serious federal crime carrying potential criminal prosecution, significant fines, and passport revocation. North Korea has separately banned American dual nationals from entering at all, even on a non-US passport, closing off what had previously been a workaround some travelers used, a policy that applies across tourism, business delegations, and sporting events alike.