An Air Koryo commercial plane is seen through barbed wire as it taxies on the tarmac at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Aug. 22. AP-Yonhap

North Koreans abroad return home after over three years

By Lee Hyo-jin

North Korea on Sunday approved the return of its citizens from abroad after over three years of stringent COVID-19 lockdowns, taking a big step toward aligning with global efforts to "live with the virus," according to analysts.

Experts say that the Kim Jong-un regime's decision is likely driven by an exacerbating food crisis and economic difficulties, although the isolated nation still remains wary of a full-scale reopening of its borders.

Pyongyang's state media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), reported Sunday that North Korean citizens who had been staying abroad were recently allowed to return home, marking the first approval of international passenger travel since the reclusive regime shut its borders in January 2020.

"Concerning the easing of the worldwide spread of the infectious disease, the citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea staying abroad were allowed to return home according to the decision of the State Emergency Anti-Epidemic Headquarters to adjust the degree of epidemic prevention," the report read.

"The returnees will undergo strict medical supervision at quarantine facilities for a week," it added.

While the KCNA did not specify the departure countries or routes, the announcement came after North Korea resumed commercial flights with China and Russia last week.

The lifting of the entry ban on the citizens means that more laborers and students staying abroad are expected to come back home, according to Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the Korean Institute of National Unification.

"North Korea's border closure has passed the tipping point. Some overseas laborers who were deployed long before the COVID-19 outbreak were stuck there for about six years now, separated from their families," Cho said.

North Korean women head to the departure area of Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, Aug. 22. Yonhap

He viewed that North Korea's resumption of commercial flights seems to be driven by a sense of urgency to resume trade and people-to-people exchanges.

The largely agricultural nation's food shortage has severely worsened as trade with China plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic, cutting off an important source of food supply. And the dire food situation has been aggravated by typhoons and heavy rainfall that battered the Korean Peninsula this summer.

But still, it would take a while until North Korea reopens its borders in earnest to pre-pandemic levels, said Cho.


"We have yet to see other indications that the nation is opening all of its borders, such as the resumption of passenger trains between North Korea and China, as well as increased movements of cargo trucks between the two countries," he said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un drives a tractor outside the Kumsong Tractor Factory during his inspection of the facility, Aug. 23 in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap

Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korea studies at Ewha Womans University, commented that the return of overseas residents signals that Pyongyang is preparing to enter an era of "living with the coronavirus," despite lingering virus concerns.

"The unvaccinated nation is still highly wary of the coronavirus, but it has no choice but to reopen its borders to resume trade and address the ongoing food shortage which has reached a serious level," he said. "I've heard that the price of rice per kilogram has reached 7,000 North Korean won (KPW) in some places, the highest figure in several years."

Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at the Sejong Institute, anticipated that Pyongyang may begin to accept foreign visitors from next year.

"If the large-scale return of overseas residents does not pose significant issues to North Korea's quarantine situation, the North could gradually reduce the isolation period. And it is anticipated that the entry and tourism of foreigners will be fully permitted from next year," he said.