pioneer tour north korea

Young Pioneer Tours

All Koreas Part 2: North Korea Tour

Welcome to All Koreas: Part 2. This entire tour includes the rural northeast of North Korea which is way off the usual tourist trail. This tour combines the must see sights of Pyongyang and the DMZ with a connecting Air Koryo domestic flight, something that is certainly unique for an experience in the DPRK.

Our journey first starts in Beijing where you’ll board our overnight sleeper train to Tumen, a border town of China that lays directly across the Tumen River from the DPRK, only a stone’s throw away. Once arriving we’ll have time to explore this strange town and spend the evening at a local hotel.

The following morning we’ll go through Chinese immigration and become one of the very few western tourists to walk across a bridge into North Korea which was first opened by YPT back in 2012. Here we’ll be met by our friendly local Korean guides and head directly to Wangjaesan Grand Monument, one of the most impressive in the country and a must-see for any fan of grand socialist monuments.

We’ll then make our way to Hoeryong city, a beautiful town famous within the country for ceramics, apricots, and the hometown of Kim Jong Suk (Kim Jong Il’s mother). Other highlights include Kim Ki Song middle school where we’ll involve ourselves in an English class; most of these students have most likely never seen a westerner before.

Next on our agenda will be the infamous Chongjin industrial city, the capital of North Hamgyong province, where we’ll be able to visit a local kindergarten where the workers of the Kim Chaek steelworks factory send their children to study. You’ll also explore the recently renovated square centred in North Korea’s third largest city and the revolutionary museum that holds history on the battle for liberation against the Japanese during WWII.

Your next destination is Mt Chilbo, famous for its incredible nature of both land and sea. Here we’ll indulge in the only homestay available in the country for two nights. This one of a kind experience will lead us to spend your time eating, drinking, playing sports and exchanging photos with your North Korean homestay family. We’ll also take advantage of this mountainous region and go for gentle hikes along the peaks for spectacular views. After saying goodbye to our Korean families, we’ll make our way to Orang Airport to board one of the very few domestic flights to Pyongyang city. This concludes our adventure and rare sights of the rural northeast of the DPRK.

Once arriving in Pyongyang, we’ll dig deep into the must-see sights of the capital. We’ll be visiting the Mausoleum of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, the Korean War Museum, riding the deep and mystifying Pyongyang Metro, drinking at the local microbreweries, Kim Il Sung Square and much much more. And of course, no trip to North Korea is ever complete without a day visit to the DMZ to see where both North and South Korea separate their land.

And there you have it! All the must-see sights of the DPRK in one very convenient and not to be missed package and one one of our most extensive and rewarding DPRK travel experiences.

Be sure to make the most out of your journey by joining our All Korea’s Part 1 tour along the borderlands dividing China and North Korea, and our All Korea’s Part 3 tour in South Korea, visiting the DMZ from three separate parts of the Korean peninsula.

Wednesday 19th June

• Meet your YPT guide at 10:00am at the Beijing Zhong Gu Hotel near Beijing Railway Station found  here . During this meeting, we’ll go through the tour’s itinerary, receive DPRK visas and tickets, as well as a great chance to meet your fellow travellers and to discuss any other questions you may have about the DPRK. We’ll use this time to stock up on drinks, snacks and food for the train journey.
• Take the overnight sleeper train at 1:00pm for Tumen city located on the border of China and North Korea
• Hot meals on the train available from 25 – 50RMB

Thursday 20th June

• Arrival in Tumen at 3:06pm.
• Check into hotel situated within walking distance of the border.
• A chance to hangout by the river to have dinner and look over the border in the DPRK, this is also a great place to buy local souvenirs.
• Overnight in Tumen.

Friday 21st June

• Up early to drive to the border to go through some very relaxed but also curious Chinese customs.
• Walk the bridge into the DPRK to meet your local guides and proceed through DPRK customs officials.
• Get your first taste of North Korean cuisine with lunch at a local restaurant in Namyang city complete with a performance
• Drive to Wangjaesan Grand Monument – one of the most spectacular monuments in the DPRK
• Drive to Hoeryong city (2 hours) – Population 140,000, This city is most famous in the country for white apricots, ceramics and being the birthplace of President Kim Il Sung’s revolutionary hero wife, and Kim Jong Il’s mother – Kim Jong Suk.
• We’ll pay a very special visit to Kim Ki Song Middle School – they have an English class here full of students learning basic English. We use this time to join the students, ask them questions and let them ask us questions. This is one of our favourite stops on the tour.
• Check into the Hoeryong Hotel
• Dinner, drinks and overnight at the hotel

Saturday 22nd June

• Visit the statue of Mother Kim Jong Suk and her revolutionary museum.
• Visit the native home of Kim Jong Suk
• Visit Hoeryong School Children’s Palace
• Drive to Chongjin City (2 hours) – Chongjin is North Korea’s third-largest city with a heavy focus on the steelworks and fishing industry.
• Check-in at Chongjin Hotel – formally a hotel used to accommodate Soviet scientists back in the 80’s
• Lunch at the Chongjin Seamen’s Club – here you can try Chongjin’s best noodle dish
• Visit the newly renovated Chongjin Square to see the statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il
• Explore the square to visit the newly built Electronic Library – here the locals have a chance to use their local intranet for research, practice their typing skills and to play locally made computer games
• Visit the Revolutionary Museum of Chongjin
• Visit the Kim Chaek Steel Complex Kindergarten for a children’s performance – before visiting we can stop by a local store to pick up some stationary or candy for the students
• Chongjin Art Gallery – One of the best art galleries in the country to offer unique propaganda artwork
• Visit the Soviet Martyrs Cemetery – this cemetery was built to commemorate the Russians who landed in Chongjin to battle the Japanese Aggressors during WW2. The cemetery has an incredible view of Chongjin’s east port.
• Dinner and drinks at Namgang Restaurant – during dinner we’ll have the option to dance and sing with the Korean waitresses.
• You can have the option to visit the new Namgang hot spot for a hot bath and swimming. (60 RMB extra)
• Overnight and drinks at Chongjin Hotel

Sunday 23rd June – Korean home stay

• Stop by the Chongjin Foreign Language Institute to greet the students and join in on a class. This is also a fantastic opportunity to speak with the students to get a better understanding of their lives in Chongjin
• Susongchon Foodstuffs Factory – where bread, soju and other sweets are made locally in Chongjin city
• Drive to Mt. Chilbo (3 hours) stopping along the coastal road for some gorgeous scenic views
• On the way stopping at the North Hamngyong Mushroom Factory – Here we can see how mushrooms are produced as well as sample the local product.
• Arrive at the entrance to Mt. Chilbo for an explanation of the area using the world’s largest mineral painting map as a guide.
• Lunch at Outer Chilbo Hotel
• Begin your easy hike through the mountains of Chilbo – this region is the most famous part of North Hamgyong province and has lots of colourful stories to explain the various rock structures.
• On the way stopping by Kaesim Buddhist Temple and meet the local monk
• Trip Highlight – Drive to the home stay village where we’ll be greeted by our families and then taken to our homes. We encourage to bring gifts and photos from your home countries as a nice gesture.
• Dinner and home stay overnight at the village – two guests per family

Monday 24th June – Korean home stay

• We’ll begin another hike, this time up to Tokgol and Gangsonmun areas – these are the highest peaks of the Mt. Chilbo area, and we’ll have stunning views of both the land and the sea.
• Picnic lunch prepared by our families once we reach the top
• Spectate or play volleyball with the locals, play with the children, help with some light chores or walk around to meet the neighbours!
• Jump on a local fisherman’s boat and drive out to see to see the magnificent Mt. Chilbo from afar (20 RMB extra)
• Optional Korean wrestling and volleyball tournament with the villagers.
• Dinner at the home stay village
• Bonfire party on the beach with the villagers providing entertainment by singing songs and dancing.
• Overnight with our Korean home stay families.

Tuesday 25th June

• Morning chores with home stay family such as sweeping, washing dishes, watering vegetables in the front yard, playing with the dog, etc– not a must but a very polite gesture as a thank you for accommodating you
• Drive to Orang county on the way stopping at:
• Yombun revolutionary site – this beautiful scenic site named for being one of the first places on the east coast where villagers discovered a new way to get sea salt despite the east sea being almost tideless.
• Gyongsong Revolutionary Museum
• Jipsam Revolutionary Site with picnic lunch along the beach
• Arrive at Orang Airport and board a local domestic Air Koryo flight at 3:00pm flying to Pyongyang city – here we’ll say goodbye to our local North Hamgyong guides!
• Arriving in Pyongyang at 3:50pm and be greeted by our local Pyongyang guides
• Head towards the capital and stopping at the Three Revolutions Exhibition centre – the exhibition primarily showcases the three primary fields of revolution – ideological, technical, and cultural.
• Stop by and stretch our legs along the new Ryomyong Street in Pyongyang – the street was opened in 2017 and lined with modern DPRK apartments and high-rises, one of them is the third tallest in the city.
• Dinner at a local Korean restaurant on Ryomyong Street
• Check in and overnight at Sosan Hotel

Wednesday 26th June

• Walk through Mansudae fountain park and see the mosaic pictures of President Kim Il Sung and the leader Kim Jong Il.
• Visit Mansudae Grand Monument – the two large bronze statues of President Kim Il Sung and Leader Kim Jong Il overlooking the city. (Optional extra- you can present flowers if you wish: 40RMB or 5 euros).
• Foreign Language Bookshop- Shopping central for books, pins, DVD’s, CD’s and periodicals in English and other foreign Languages, followed by a brisk walk to:
• Kim Il Sung Square – The central square of Pyongyang City.
• Pyongyang Metro! Ride from Stop 1 to Stop 2 then on to stop 6! Exiting to:
• The Arch of Triumph- The largest Victory Arch on the planet- it celebrates the victory over the Japanese and the return of the general Kim Il Sung to his home city.
• Lunch at the Chongryu Korean Hot Pot restaurant.
• Visit the recently renovated Korean War Museum – let the expert local guide show you around the enormous museum featuring dioramas, locally used weapons, tanks, and captured American equipment
• USS Pueblo – The only US Naval Ship still held captive by another nation.
• Juche Tower – The tallest stone tower in the world it represents the eternally burning Korean Juche Ideology. Visit to the top is 40RMB or 5 euros for a panoramic view of the city
• Visit Kwangbok department store – here we can buy locally made items and exchange our foreign currency into local DPRK Won
• Dinner at a local restaurant to try the famous Pyongyang cold noodles or Korean Bibimbap with a special performance from the waitresses
• Overnight at Sosan Hotel

Thursday 27th June

• Kumsusan Palace of the Sun – The mausoleum for the Great Leader President Kim Il Sung and the Dear Leader Kim Jong Il.
• Grand People’s Study House – Library and academic centre for adult learners, this grand building is built in the Korean style and affords a great view over the central Square.
• Lunch at the Moran Hill Restaurant
• Stop by the Mansudae Art Studio where all the art works, portraits and monuments from the government are produced
• Monument to the Party Foundation- Built in 1995 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the worker’s party.
• Quick coffee break at Pyongyang’s “hipster cafe” the Kumrung Cafe for some of Pyongyang’s best coffee.
• Mangyongdae Schoolchildren’s Palace – the DPRK’s largest schoolchildren’s palace. We’ll have a chance to visit classrooms to see students studying their elective subjects including dancing, sports, musical instruments, calligraphy, computer science, embroidery and more. The students of the palace will put on a spectacular performance.
• Drinks at the Taedongang #3 brewery with seven different beers on tap! (20RMB or 3 euros each). Softd rinks and coffee available
• Dinner at the Pyongyang Duck BBQ Restaurant.
• Overnight in Sosan Hotel.

Friday 28th June

• Up nice and early for the drive to Kaesong city (2 and a half hours)
• Panmunjon DMZ Village – see the DMZ and the treaty and conferences rooms where the armistice was signed all in the company of a friendly KPA officer guide (you can also take pictures of soldiers here!).
• Koryo Museum – the oldest university in Korea and now a converted museum of local history. Also the site of the best propaganda and stamp/postcard shop in the DPRK!
• Lunch at the Thongil Restaurant in Kaesong City – try your hand at traditional Korean Pansangi – a series of dishes served in bronze bowls. (Optional extras – Dog soup 40 RMB or 5 euros).
• The concrete wall of the DMZ – this is a little off the beaten track and gives us a great glimpse at the wall which was erected by the South Koreans during the 70’s. We can even see South Korean watch towers along the hill from the DPRK post
• Drop by Sariwon city (Capital of North Hwanghae province) to walk in the local folk custom park and view the city from the mountain top pagoda. Also if you like you can try Makkoli in a local Makkoli Bar.
• Photo opportunity of the Monument to the Three Charters of National Reunification, standing over the Reunification Highway.
• Dinner at the Lamb BBQ Restaurant.
• Overnight at the Sosan Hotel.

Saturday 29th June

• Flight members depart at 9:00am for Beijing on Air Koryo arriving at 9:55am Beijing time.
• Train members depart at 10:25am heading back to China
• Arrive into Dandong at 4:30pm
• Sign up for our All Koreas Part 3 tour and meet your Part 3 YPT guide at the station exit and begin tour!
• Part 2 train members depart at 6:30pm for the overnight sleeper train to Beijing

Sunday 30th June

• Train members arrive 9:00am at Beijing Railway Station.

Undiscovered North Korea: North Hamgyong Province

What’s it like staying at North Korea’s only homestay – DPRK Guide

Mangyongdae Children’s Palace – Pyongyang North Korea

Mansudae Art Studio

Kumsusan Palace of the Sun – DPRK Guide

North Korean Cuisine – A complete guide

Women in the DPRK: Mother Kim Jong-Suk

Top 5 awesome North Korean souvenirs

Domestic North Korean Flights

A quick guide to North Korean cities

Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum – DPRK Guide

The Pyongyang Metro – DPRK Guide

Kwangbok Department Store and Supermarket – DPRK Guide

Korean Language: Is South Korean different to North Korean?

• Tour Extensions

Want to extend your YPT adventure? Join one of our great tour extensions

Mount Kumgang Extension

Overnight in Sinuiju

Mount Myohyang Day Tour Extension

Wonsan City Beach Extension

Haeju City Extension

• Start Date : June 19th 2024 End Date : June 30th 2024
• Price : €1595
• Duration: 10 nights, 11 days

Tour Highlights

• One of the most comprehensive tours of North Korea ever offered
• Gain an insight into the border life of China and North Korea in Tumen city
• Explore the rarely visited North Hamgyong province and Chongjin - the DPRK's third largest city
• Stay in North Korea's only home stay with your very own North Korean family within the beautiful Mt Chilbo region
• Experience an Air Koryo domestic flight on a route no other airlines can fly
• All the must see sites of Pyongyang - Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Juche Tower, Korean War Museum, all the grandest monuments and much more
• Visit Panmunjom Village (DMZ), Kaesong and Sariwon city in the lower provinces of the country

Inclusions and exclusions

• Twin share accommodation (single supplements are available for an extra 40 EUR per night). • Train in and out Beijing-Tumen and then Pyongyang-Beijing. • Domestic flight from Orang to Pyongyang • All meals in the DPRK unless specified in the itinerary. • Korean and western guides • Air-conditioned bus and driver. • All entrances (unless otherwise stated)

• Flight from Pyongyang to Beijing • Extra drinks and souvenirs • Cost of visas • Tips for Korean guides and the driver. • Additional events not listed in the itinerary

We have expert guides ready to help answer any questions you may have.

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An American in South Korea Heads North (Part 1)

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Inside the Sketchy Travel Company That Took Otto Warmbier to North Korea

In an interview with The Telegraph , Warmbier’s father strongly criticizes YPT for what they are doing.

“This Chinese company has slick ads on the internet, claiming no American ever gets detained,” he said.  “Otto is a young adventure-seeking kid. They lure Americans. And that’s what happened to my son.  He was trying to leave the country and he was taken hostage. They advertise it as the safest tour ever. But they provide fodder for the North Koreans. They took him hostage. And the outcome is self-evident.”

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Ultra budget tour North Korea with Nic - Young Pioneer Tours

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Excellent tour! YPT never disappoint, we saw so many things, even that the tour has "narcos" on its... read more

I had a wonderful time with YPT on the Ultimate Transnistria Victory Day Tour. Ravi was an... read more

Ultra budget tour North Korea with Nic

To be fair I don't now where to start, one of the best experiences of my life (if not the best). Totally worth every single penny. So for starters, it was really easy getting in contact with them, solving all the practical stuff as visa forms and payment. They answer on email directly, you barely get the chance to send the email before you have an answer Then to the meet up in China. Really easy here as well, clear directions on when and where to meet up. Nic (our western guide) quickly assembled the group at the train station in Dandong, gave a solid and clear briefing and then we were of to the boarding area for the train to North Korea (yeah it was that easy). On the train ride we got time to ask all our questions to Nic (our western guide), and it wasn't a single one he couldn't answer!! So well educated in the subject, we were all certainly deeply impressed! When we arrived in Pyongyang the north Korean guides and the driver picked us up at the station. Super nice and educated guides as well!! We then drove to the hotel and had a great dinner and prepared ourselves for the next day, which would be full of sightseeing in Pyongyang. The day full of sightseeing was great, or more like amazing. Can't go through it all, but it was definitely the most intense, educating, fun and most amazing day I've ever had. Felt like you had a week of experience in one day - they definitely make sure you get value for your money!!! The day after we headed back to China with the train, while some other stuck around in North Korea since they did a tour extension. So to summarize all of this: - Probably the best western guide you could ask for, super educated and a great guy! - Great korean guides! - You'll meet awesome people on the tour! - They'll make sure you get value out of your money! (And they are cheaper than the other companies) - Easy to book with YPT and get in contact with them. - North Korea is just the most surreal and awesome experience you'll ever have. I will definitely book with them again WHEN I'm going back, wouldn't even hesitate for a second!!! Best company out there for sure!! Don't hesitate, just book it!!

If a trip to Eritrea and Somaliland is on your agenda, I would highly recommend this YPT trip. The trip includes two independence day celebrations in both Eritrea and Somaliland. Not guaranteed, but there’s a chance to participate in, even lead, the parade in Somaliland and be interviewed on national Eritrea TV. In 2019, we did both. We also visited the seaside location in both countries where snorkeled and scuba dived. If you prefer visiting countries and avoiding the tourist crowds, this is the time fo visit. Both countries are unadulterated by tourists. We encounter encountered very few other tourist on our adventures.

Found YPT from a recommendation of a friend. We spoke directly to the guide (Rowan) who is helpful and informative about the coming tour. The tour was well organized, the food was delicious and plenty, and our accommodation was clean. Over all we had a blast and met the most amazing people during our trip! Definitely worth visiting with YPT :)

I recently completed the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somaliland and Eritrea) 2019 tour and had the best time. The guides (Eilidh, Ben & Pier) are passionate individuals that were a lot of fun to be around. The fellow travellers that I met on this tour were well-travelled with plenty of interesting travel stories and tips to share. I am looking forward to exploring more offbeat places around the world with these guys in the future.

My girlfriend and I joined Matt and the team from YPT for the 8 day may day tour. Both Matt and our Noeth Korean guides were great and the whole experience was amazing. Highly recommend the experience. The 8 day tour spent a little too much time in PyongYang for my liking and I think the 11 day tour would have been interesting to spend a little more time outside of the city. Due to time constraints, we flew in and out which I kind of regret, the group who took the train in arrived exhausted but had bonded into a fun group already.

I enjoyed a ten day group tour in DPRK with YPT. If you like group travel with a packed itinerary this tour is a great choice. DPRK is a fascinating country with culture and society so different to what I am used to. Itinerary, accommodation and food was great. The tour leaders are very experienced with travel in DPRK and handled the group the best possible way. Amazing trip. Highly recommended!

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The Two-Way

International, tour company used by otto warmbier will stop taking americans to north korea.

Bill Chappell

A China-based tour company says it will no longer take U.S. citizens to North Korea. Here, Chinese vendors sell flags of North Korea and China along the Yalu River in Dandong, northern China, along the border with North Korea. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images hide caption

A China-based tour company says it will no longer take U.S. citizens to North Korea. Here, Chinese vendors sell flags of North Korea and China along the Yalu River in Dandong, northern China, along the border with North Korea.

Young Pioneer Tours, the travel company that took Otto Warmbier on a fateful trip to North Korea, will no longer take U.S. citizens into North Korea. The company says the "tragic outcome" of Warmbier's trip — the American died after being jailed and had been in a coma — prompted the change.

Based in China, the touring company promises "adventure holidays"; trips like the one Warmbier took commonly include round-trip travel from Beijing, with several guides for groups of up to 24 tourists.

"There had not been any previous detainment in North Korea that has ended with such tragic finality and we have been struggling to process the result," Young Pioneer Tours said in a statement on its website . "Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high."

Warmbier, 22, was a student at the University of Virginia when he was arrested in Pyongyang in early January 2016, accused of trying to steal a propaganda poster from an employee area of his hotel. Within weeks, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison and hard labor. His release some 17 months later came as a surprise, particularly when it was revealed that he was in a coma.

North Korean authorities said Warmbier fell into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill. But after his return home to Ohio last week, doctors said they suspected his condition had been caused by cardiopulmonary arrest.

Last week, Warmbier's father, Fred Warmbier, said his son had been "lured" into traveling to North Korea by Young Pioneer Tours and that the company had promised its customers were never detained. Instead, Warmbier said, the company helped his son become "fodder" for the isolated regime.

In the wake of Warmbier's detention and death, the Young Pioneer Tour company has updated is "North Korea FAQ" page, starting with its top question: "How safe is it?"

Weeks before Warmbier took his trip, the travel company's response to that question began ( according to a Web archive ), "Extremely safe! Despite what you may hear, North Korea is probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit."

It now begins: "Despite what you may hear, for most nationalities, North Korea is probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit provided you follow the laws as provided by our documentation and pre-tour briefings."

And where a one-paragraph answer had previously sufficed, the reply is now three paragraphs.

The move to stop taking Americans to North Korea comes after the country had relaxed some of its travel restrictions in recent years — including granting tourist visas to Americans in 2010, Young Pioneer Tours says. But in May, the U.S. State Department reiterated its warnings against traveling there, saying at least 16 Americans had been detained in North Korea in the past 10 years.

As NPR's Michele Kelemen reported last week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said his agency is considering a travel visa restriction to North Korea; but that would stop short of a full travel ban, which would require action by Congress.

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Tour of the 'hidden' 5th floor of North Korea's Yanggakdo Hotel

Tour of the "hidden" 5th floor of North Korea's Yanggakdo Hotel.

— -- For nearly a decade, Young Pioneer Tours offered travelers from the United States and other countries the chance to see another side of North Korea. Videos on the Young Pioneer’s YouTube channel feature activities ranging from karaoke bars to arm-wrestling matches.

Dr. Calvin Sun, founder of travel guide company Monsoon Diaries, went to North Korea with Young Pioneer Tours in 2011. Four years later, Young Pioneer Tours would lead U.S. college student Otto Warmbier on a 2015 trip to the same Pyongyang hotel. It was at this hotel, North Korean officials said, that Warmbier attempted to steal a propaganda poster, for which he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years hard labor.

Sun recalled finding Young Pioneer with a simple Google search while he was traveling in Asia. “They were just the cheapest option,” Sun said.

With a small group of travelers, Sun flew by plane to Pyongyang where they stayed for four nights at the Yanggakdo Hotel, the primary hotel for international tourists.

The hotel offers amenities ranging from bowling and billiards to gambling and bars. After noticing that the hotel’s elevator did not list a fifth floor, Sun and his travel companions found the “hidden” floor via the stairwell and discovered a number of hand-painted propaganda wall hangings.

“We were very nervous in terms of, 'Are we supposed to be here, or are we not supposed to be here?'” he recalled.

Sun said that he was unfamiliar with the hotel hallway that appeared in the surveillance tape released by North Korean officials allegedly showing Warmbier’s removing a poster from the wall.

Warmbier died Monday in Cincinnati, Ohio, just days after arriving from North Korea in what U.S. doctors described as a state of unresponsive wakefulness.

As a result, China-based Young Pioneer Tours said it will no longer take Americans to North Korea but will continue the tours for others.

“The devastating loss of Otto Warmbier's life has led us to reconsider our position on accepting American tourists,” the company said on its website. “There had not been any previous detainment in North Korea that has ended with such tragic finality and we have been struggling to process the result. Now, the assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high.”

Said Dr. Sun: “Hearing about what happened is devastating to us as travelers.”

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Tour company used by Otto Warmbier expresses hope that North Korean travel ban is lifted

The tour company used by Otto Warmbier to enter North Korea wants Americans to be able to again travel to the country, according to the company's  website .

Young Pioneer Tours seeks daring customers willing to visit "destinations your mother would rather you stay away from." Warmbier joined a group flown into North Korea in late 2015 at the guidance of the tour company.

After Warmbier's imprisonment and eventual death, the State Department barred U.S. citizens from traveling to North Korea, with few exceptions. The ban remains in place today. Those who defy it may lose their passport and may be subject to felony prosecution.

The State Department warns of a " serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of U.S. nationals" in North Korea.

Young Pioneer Tours wrote that, despite the travel ban, "many Americans have consistently been (an) interested and open-minded demographic in wanting to visit the country."

Tour companies have been forced to turn them away "in large numbers," the blog claims.

More: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman: 'Never let North Korea off the hook' for Otto Warmbier's death

More: Otto Warmbier: Trump doesn't think North Korean leader Kim had role in Wyoming student's death

The blog was written before the summit this week between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. Young Pioneer Tours expressed hope that the U.S. would lift the ban as part of a deal to denuclearize North Korea.

But no such deal was reached.

"Because (North Korea) is now working hard to put relations with America back on track, it will also be a good time for these visitors to go," the blog says.

A representative from the company did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment.

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Warmbier, a Wyoming, Ohio, native, was detained by North Korean authorities after being accused of stealing a poster from a hotel in Pyongyang, the nation’s capital.

When Warmbier didn't call his family after his scheduled departure date from North Korea, Young Pioneer Tours assured them "everything was fine," and Warmbier's inability to leave North Korea was just a "misunderstanding," according to federal court documents.

But after a televised confession, Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor. He was held prisoner for 15 months before the government released him in June 2017.

Warmbier was returned to his family but died a few days later.

The State Department advised against traveling to North Korea at the time of Warmbier's trip, according to GQ .

Trump, who condemned the " brutality of the North Korean regime " shortly after Warmbier died, said this week that Kim assured him he had no role in the student's death.

"I will take him at his word," Trump said.

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Otto Warmbier Came Home in a Coma. Travel Company Says North Korea Is ‘Extremely Safe!’

By Austin Ramzy and Choe Sang-Hun

• June 16, 2017

The website of Young Pioneer Tours anticipates a frequently asked question about North Korea: “How safe is it?”

“Extremely safe!” the company replies, in an answer that remained on its site without qualification even after the return this week of one of its customers, Otto F. Warmbier, in a coma with what doctors described Thursday as “ extensive loss of brain tissue in all regions of his brain.”

Mr. Warmbier, 22, a student at the University of Virginia, traveled to Pyongyang on a trip organized by Young Pioneer Tours in December 2015 and was imprisoned over alleged efforts to remove a propaganda sign from his hotel. For more than a year, North Korea declined diplomats’ requests to visit him. Then on Tuesday, it abruptly released him on “ humanitarian grounds .”

Many questions remain about Mr. Warmbier’s precipitous decline in health, including whether he had been repeatedly beaten, as one senior American official suggested, citing recent intelligence reports, or slipped into a coma after contracting botulism and taking a sleeping pill, as North Korean diplomats asserted. It is also unclear why North Korea kept Mr. Warmbier’s condition a secret for so long and chose to release him now.

But the case has prompted fresh scrutiny of the agencies — many of them based in China — that take foreign tourists to North Korea and calls for new restrictions on travel to the country, where three other American citizens are still being held on charges of ill-defined crimes against the authoritarian state.

Fred Warmbier, Otto’s father, lashed out at Young Pioneer Tours at an emotional news conference on Thursday. “The North Koreans lure Americans to travel to North Korea via tour groups, run out of China, who advertise slick ads on the internet proclaiming, ‘No American ever gets detained on our tours’ and ‘This is a safe place to go,’” he said.

After Otto Warmbier was medically evacuated to the United States, Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said the administration was considering restrictions on American travel to North Korea.

Tourism in North Korea is tightly controlled by the government, and it is an important source of funds for the isolated nation’s economy; China said more than 237,000 of its citizens visited in 2012. But about 4,000 to 5,000 Western tourists visit annually too, drawn by the promise of an adventure far from the typical tourist trail. About 20 percent of them are from the United States, according to tour operators .

Young Pioneer Tours is one of a handful of companies authorized to organize trips to North Korea. Its website says it is based in the Chinese city of Xi’an and run by people from several countries including Australia, Britain, China and New Zealand. It advertises “budget tours to destinations your mother wants you to stay away from,” including “the first North Korean booze cruise and beer festival.”

Troy Collings, North Korea tour manager for Young Pioneer, said his company’s “greatest wish is for a full recovery for Otto.” While the company wished it could have prevented what happened, Mr. Collings wrote in an email, “we didn’t see any signs of concern until it was too late.”

The company intended its website’s statement about North Korea’s safety as a reflection of the lack of crime or terrorist attacks, he wrote.

“We believe our current pretour procedures are more than adequate for informing our guests how to have a safe trip, something reflected by the fact we have taken more than 8,000 tourists into North Korea over the last 10 years with only one arrest,” he wrote.

But Young Pioneer’s website presents a cheerier view of travel to North Korea than many of its competitors, describing it as “probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit.”

Unlike some competitors, it makes no mention of the United States State Department’s travel advisory that “strongly warns” Americans against traveling to North Korea because of the “serious risk of arrest and long-term detention.” Instead, the website asks: “I’m American. Is this a problem?” and answers, “Not at all!”

Adam Pitt, a British citizen who lives in Dubai and traveled with Young Pioneer to North Korea in 2013, said people on the tour drank excessively and asked inappropriate sexual questions of a female North Korean guide. The company’s co-founder, Gareth Johnson, did nothing to stop the behavior and was also drinking, he added.

“North Korea is not a budget destination,” Mr. Pitt said by email. “It’s not a place where you cut costs, and it’s not a place where you want to take risks.”

Anthony Ruggiero, a former State Department and Treasury Department official who is now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, said the United States should sanction tour companies that promote travel to North Korea as safe and impose limits on visits by Americans.

“North Korea is essentially kidnapping Americans, detaining Americans for no real good reason,” he said.

Mr. Ruggiero testified before Congress this year that North Korea uses the American detainees as bargaining chips, distracting from diplomacy on other issues, including its nuclear and missile programs.

Others argue that freedom of movement is an important right, and that tourism fosters mutual understanding that could help ease tensions between the United States and North Korea.

“I truly believe that the North Korean people will benefit from any contact they get, however small, with those that come from the outside world,” said Ron Lish, an American businessman who visited North Korea in February. “It’s my belief that these glimpses of the rest of the world provide them with information that they wouldn’t otherwise get.”

Andrea Lee, who runs the United States-based Uri Tours, called what happened to Mr. Warmbier “truly unfortunate and saddening” but said that tourism to North Korea “is safe so long as you follow the rules of the tour.”

“We have safely taken thousands of Americans to North Korea,” Ms. Lee said by email. “These trips are often a moving life-changing experience for both foreigners and locals who are able to interact as human beings and gain a different perspective of the so-called ‘enemy.’”

Three Americans remain in North Korean custody, all of them of Korean ancestry: Kim Dong-chul, a businessman sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for espionage, and Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, two volunteers at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology , who were arrested earlier this year and accused of “hostile acts.”

Diplomats say the North Korean authorities generally treat ethnic Koreans more harshly than other foreigners in detention.

Cheong Seong-chang, senior North Korea analyst at the Sejong Institute, a think tank in South Korea, said the North may have decided to release Mr. Warmbier “before things got worse, considering the backlash and sanctions it could expect should he die while he was in its custody.”

Mr. Cheong said that North Korea may be trying to open a channel of dialogue with the United States ahead of a summit meeting later this month between President Trump and South Korea’s new president, Moon Jae-in. By releasing Mr. Warmbier, he said, “North Korea opened the possibility of releasing the other American detainees as well.”

But the severity of Mr. Warmbier’s condition, and the mystery surrounding it, complicates the prospects for talks. At the news conference on Thursday, Mr. Warmbier’s father said his son had been “brutalized and terrorized” during 18 months of captivity.

Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center said they found no sign of botulism or of beatings.

They said Mr. Warmbier’s brain damage was most likely caused by cardiopulmonary arrest. Based on two M.R.I. scans sent by the North Koreans, they concluded that he had sustained his brain injury sometime before April 2016.

“I know you have many questions about what transpired,” Mr. Warmbier’s father said to reporters Thursday. “So do we. We have few answers.”

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Tour firm used by Otto Warmbier stops taking US citizens to North Korea

Young Pioneer Tours says risk is too high after 22-year-old student died on his return from imprisonment in the secretive state

The travel agency that arranged Otto Warmbier’s trip to North Korea has said it will no longer be taking US citizens to the secretive state after he was returned to the US in a coma and later died in hospital.

Warmbier, a 22-year-old American student, was travelling with the China-based agent Young Pioneer Tours when he was arrested at Pyongyang airport in January 2016 and sentenced to 15 years hard labour after allegedly stealing a propaganda poster from his hotel.

Warmbier was medically evacuated to the US last week after a flurry of secret diplomatic negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang but died on Monday . His parents said he had severe brain injuries after being brutalised in detention.

Warmbier’s father, Fred, has accused the tour company – which advertised North Korea as “probably one of the safest places on Earth to visit” – of “luring” his adventure-seeking son on to the trip and downplaying the risks .

In a statement on its website, the company offered its sympathies to Warmbier’s family and said the “assessment of risk for Americans visiting North Korea has become too high”.

Tour companies Koryo Tours and Uri Tours , which have been running trips to North Korea since the 1990s, also said they were reviewing their positions on taking US citizens to the country.

While the US state department strongly advises against travelling to North Korea, tour company websites say they regularly take people without incident, marketing a range of experiences from the Pyongyang Marathon, to surfing, cycling and beer tours around the capital.

A few days before Warmbier’s death, the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said he was considering further restrictions on travel for American citizens, possibly an all-out ban. Of the estimated 5,000 western tourists who visit the secretive state every year, 20% are estimated to be American.

Young Pioneer Tours, which also promotes tours to Eritrea and Yemen , is based in the Chinese city of Xi’an. It was founded in 2008 by British expat Gareth Johnson, promising to take adventurous travellers to “the places your mother wants you to stay away from”, including North Korea and Iran.Proponents of tourism to North Korea argue that interaction with the outside world, no matter how stage-managed by the regime, is vital if the country is to open up. Benjamin Young, an American who runs a blog on North Korea, said the Warmbier case shows the country cannot be changed through tourism. Writing for NK news, he said: “You cannot truly engage with the North Korean people. You can only engage with the regime … who simply operate on a different level.”

Young, who travelled to North Korea as a student, added: “I thought I was being adventurous … looking back on it, I was just naive.

Adam Pitt, a British tourist who travelled with Young Pioneer in 2013, told Agence France-Presse that he was given little warning about the risks and described a “lewd”, “binge-drinking” culture on the trip similar to what one might expect in Europe.

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