A B.C. woman who stole more than $14,000 in volunteer-raised funds that were supposed to be spent on school supplies and programs 鈥 including hot meals for vulnerable kids 鈥 won't spend any time in jail.
North Korea will reopen to international tourism this winter, tour operators say
North Korea is to reopen limited international tourism by the end of 2024, nearly five years after it completely sealed the country鈥檚 borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, two tour companies with connections to the isolated country have announced.
Beijing-based Koryo Tours and Shenyang-based KTG Tours both made separate online announcements Wednesday, saying tour groups would be allowed to visit the mountainous city of Samjiyon, the purported birthplace of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
鈥淲e have received confirmation from our local partner that tourism to Samjiyon and likely the rest of the country will officially resume in December 2024,鈥 Koryo Tours , adding that itinerary and further details will be finalized 鈥渋n the coming days and weeks.鈥
In a separate Facebook , KTG Tours also said exact dates for the tours were to be confirmed. 鈥淪o far just Samjiyon has been mentioned but we think that PY [Pyongyang] and other places will open too!鈥
Samjiyon straddles the Chinese border and is close to the highest peak on the Korean Peninsula, Mount Paektu, an active volcano of paramount importance and historic significance to both North and South Koreans, as it is considered the cradle of the Korean people.
Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea, in April 2020, shortly after the country closed its borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Kim Won Jin / AFP / Getty Images via CNN Newsource)
The 'Paektu' bloodline
Though South Koreans are restricted from visiting the North, South Korea鈥檚 former president Moon Jae-in and then first lady Kim Jung-sook visited the top of the mountain with Kim Jong Un and his wife Ri Sol Ju in 2018, underlining the symbolism of the mountain.
Visiting the summit of Mount Paektu is akin to making a religious pilgrimage for North Koreans. The fabled 鈥淧aektu鈥 bloodline is what gives the ruling Kim family legitimacy, say observers, who note Western historians鈥 conflicting claims the second-generation leader was born in Russia.
Samjiyon was once a popular destination for Chinese tourists, who used to arrive by busload prior to Covid-19. Tourism provided North Korea with revenue despite international sanctions over Pyongyang鈥檚 illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally inspected construction sites within Samjiyon earlier in July, state media .
North Korean state media have so far not reported changes concerning the country reopening in a limited capacity to foreign visitors, but North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has previously indicated he would prioritize visitors from 鈥渇riendly鈥 nations, which include Russia and China.
The road to reopening
The pandemic left North Korea鈥檚 borders hermetically sealed from nearly all of the outside world for several years 鈥 restrictions that largely continue except for small tour groups from Russia 鈥 who were allowed to enter this year amid Kim鈥檚 deepening partnership with Russian strongman Vladimir Putin.
About 100 Russian tourists were in North Korea earlier this year, traveling via a North Korean-owned Air Koryo plane from Vladivostok.
But pandemic border restrictions forced most diplomatic missions and international nonprofits to pull out of North Korea, leaving the impoverished nation of around 25 million arguably the most isolated it has been since the Cold War.
United States passports are not valid for travel to, in, or through North Korea, unless they are specially validated by the US Department of State. The department North Korea as 鈥淟evel 4: do not travel.鈥
The announcements to reopen tourism come about a month after Kim visited a new beachside tourism site, the Wonsan-Kalma zone, currently under development on the country鈥檚 eastern coast.
Kim said the resort would open in May 2025, after years of construction delays due to the Covid pandemic and United Nations sanctions, state news agency KCNA reported.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump expected to name Marco Rubio secretary of state, reports say
Donald Trump selected U.S. Senator Marco Rubio to be his secretary of state, sources said on Monday, putting Rubio on track to be the first Latino to serve as America's top diplomat.
Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus was among approximately 120 people who gathered Sunday night for a candlelight vigil near the scene of a vicious attack against a 16-year-old in Cobalt.
23andMe cuts 40 per cent of its workforce, discontinues all therapy programs
Genetic testing firm 23andMe said on Monday it is reducing about 40 per cent, or 200 employees, from its workforce and discontinuing all its therapies.
'Your body, my choice': Attacks on women surge on social media following U.S. election
Sexist and abusive attacks on women, like 'your body, my choice' and 'get back to the kitchen,' have surged across social media since Trump鈥檚 reelection.
Dr. Ronald Weiss, who performed nearly 60,000 vasectomies on Ottawa men, establishing him as the "Wayne Gretzky" of the procedure, has died.
Megan Fox is expecting a baby with Machine Gun Kelly
Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly are expecting to grow their family. Fox announced her pregnancy in a social media post Monday.
A 36-year-old Montreal man who was out on bail after allegedly uttering death threats against his partner is now accused of murdering her on the South Shore.
A 15-year-old boy from Kitchener, Ont. is facing a long list of criminal charges as the Waterloo Regional Police Service wraps up a lengthy swatting investigation.
Local Spotlight
Should Toronto tear up its bike lanes to improve traffic flow? Critics say it's not so simple
A congestion crisis, a traffic nightmare, or unrelenting gridlock -- whatever you call it, most agree that Toronto has a congestion problem. To alleviate some of the gridlock, the Ontario government has announced it plans to remove bike lanes from three major roadways.
For the second year in a row, the 鈥楪ift-a-Family鈥 campaign is hoping to make the holidays happier for children and families in need throughout Barrie.
Some of the most prolific photographers behind CTV Skywatch Pics of the Day use the medium for fun, therapy, and connection.
A young family from Codroy Valley, N.L., is happy to be on land and resting with their newborn daughter, Miley, after an overwhelming, yet exciting experience at sea.
As Connor Nijsse prepared to remove some old drywall during his garage renovation, he feared the worst.
A group of women in Chester, N.S., has been busy on the weekends making quilts 鈥 not for themselves, but for those in need.
A Vancouver artist whose streetside singing led to a chance encounter with one of the world's biggest musicians is encouraging aspiring performers to try their hand at busking.
Ten-thousand hand-knit poppies were taken from the Sanctuary Arts Centre and displayed on the fence surrounding the Dartmouth Cenotaph on Monday.
A Vancouver man is saying goodbye to his nine-to-five and embarking on a road trip from the Canadian Arctic to Antarctica.