A British tour company has said it will continue with its planned inaugural trip to North Korea, according to the Telegraph. An American guide was recently arrested in the same area where the tour group is planning to visit.
The trip is scheduled for next month.
The company, Regent Holidays, said it has "no qualms" about proceeding with its tour, called "Remote North Korea - Rason, Chongjin and Chilbo," which consists of an itinerary aimed at travelers who have already visited North Korea in the past and are interested in seeing more of the country. The guided visit goes to a lesser-known northeast region of the country.
"We are not at all concerned about going into that part of the country," Carl Meadows, the tour leader, said. "We know they are very strict out there but we also know how to keep within the rules."
The American tour guide, Kenneth Bae, is an ethnic Korean with American citizenship who was leading a group prior to his arrest. He has been sentenced to 15 years hard labor for unspecified "crimes against the [North Korean] state." He had been leading a group of Europeans around the Rajin-Sonbong Free Trade Zone in the northeast region.
Bae was convicted after a period of sustained political tension between North Korea, South Korea and the United States surrounding threats of a nuclear attack from North Korea.
"No one really knows what Mr. Bae did, but it must have been something they didn't like," Meadows said. "His imprisonment will undoubtedly be used as a gambling chip and I am sure he will be released.
"We are not letting it affect our proposed tour," Meadows continued.
The region in question, the Rajin-Sonbong Free Trade Zone, is close to the border where North Korea meets China and Russia. It was established in the 1990s as an area for prospective international development. The area is very difficult to visit as a tourist, with no permitted access granted for anyone traveling from Pyongyang, the capital. The Regent tour plans to enter from China.
Tours to North Korea have to be prearranged, and independent travel is not possible. Visitors are frequently even told what they can and can't photograph.
"The North Koreans are very strict and we all know that but it really is another world," Meadows said. This will be his 14th visit to the country.
"North Korea gets to you," he added. "Once you've been there, everywhere else seems a bit mundane."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
