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An image of foreign tourists in North Korea posted on North Korea’s state tourism website. (Yonhap News)

On Jan. 20, the South Korean government shared its first concrete plan for pursuing individual tourist visits to North Korea as a way of improving inter-Korean relations and adding momentum to the Korean Peninsula peace process. The three methods presented include individual visits from South to North, individual visits by way of third countries, and linked South-North visits by foreigners (non-Koreans).

On Jan. 20, the Ministry of Unification (MOU) shared the South Korean’s government’s views on central issues including the concept of and need for individual tourism, possible approaches, the conditions for granting visit approvals, the relationship to sanctions, and matters of personal safety. It also stressed that individual tourist visits “are not subject to UN sanctions,” explaining the project was “something we are capable of pursuing independently.”

“Because it is not subject to North Korea sanctions, the ‘secondary boycott’ does not apply,” it added. The secondary boycott is a US method of independent sanctions targeting institutions, companies, and individuals in third countries that do business with North Korean institutions and individuals subject to sanctions.

In a New Year’s press conference on Jan. 14, South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared that he would “no longer just sit back and watch the dialogue between North Korea and the US” and that individual tourist visits “are not subject to sanctions and could certainly be explored.” The presentation of a concrete plan now following internal examination by the MOU, the government ministry mainly responsible for communication with North Korea, suggests as an attempt now to broaden the base of public support and draw a favorable response from Pyongyang. North Korea has yet to come out with any official or public response to the South’s pursuit of individual tourist visits.

The MOU explained that “individual tourist visits to North Korea” referred to “visits to North Korea organized through non-profit groups or travel agencies in a third country rather than the previous approach of group tourism through cooperating businesses, where each visit is individually processed: The South needs to confirm the North’s intent to send a formal invitation and the North Korean government needs to officially approve the visit.” The complexity of the concept is intended to avoid the pitfall of sanctions.

The MOU explained that by realizing individual tourist visits, it hoped to achieve effects in terms of meeting domestic demand for visiting North Korea, promoting the economy in border regions, establishing room for cooperation toward improving inter-Korean relations, and creating new tourism demand.

An MOU official named two conditions defining individual tourist visits that are not subject to sanctions: first, the visit cannot be within the framework of a profit-oriented provider (cooperative entity or joint venture), and second, it must “tourism under a method acceptable to North Korea.”

On that basis, the official said there would be “three methods that are realistically feasible.” The first of them involves direct South-to-North visits, particularly visits to the Mt. Kumgang and Kaesong regions by divided family members and social groups. This idea stems from the assumption that such visits would be intended for non-profit-oriented humanitarian goals or social/cultural exchange, and therefore would not be in violation of Hyundai Asan’s businesses rights concerning Kaesong and Mt. Kumsang tourism. Additionally, they are not subject to sanctions, and a base for such tourism exists already.

The second format involves individual visits from South to North via a third country -- in other words, using travel agency packages in China or other countries to visit North Korean destinations such as Pyongyang, Yangdok, Wonsan-Kalma, and Samjiyon.

“It may be more realistic to focus on a group of South Koreans specifically rather than sticking 10 South Koreans in with 40 Chinese,” an MOU official said, hinting at expectations that specialty packages for South Koreans will be developed.

North Korea was visited by around 200,000 foreign tourists in 2018 and 300,000 in 2019 (90% of them Chinese). For South Koreans to visit through tourism packages from Chinese or other travel agencies, North Korea authorities would need to grant them a visa. With no precedents to date, such an issue would need to be resolved going forward.

The third approach involves linked visits of South and North Korea by non-Korean tourists using a third-country travel agency -- in other words, direct individual travel from South Korea to North Korea and back to the South again. This approach would entail the development of tourism packages between South and North Korea and third-country travel agencies, as well as administrative cooperation between South and North Korean authorities and the UN Command on passage over the Military Demarcation Line (MDL).

“Of the three approaches, the one the government prefers and prioritizes is the one involving direct individual tourist visits from South to North,” an MOU official said.

The MOU explained, “Because the payments made when visiting North Korea would be for actual local expenses such as accommodations and food, it cannot be viewed as the transfer of ‘bulk cash’ [which is subject to UN sanctions].”

An MOU official noted that “the tourism money spent by Chinese and other tourists in North Korea is not subject to sanctions either.”

Even if specific organizations or businesses are involved in recruiting tourism, the MOU explained that this recruitment would be “a simple mediating activity that would not correspond to a cooperative entity or joint venture [subject to UN sanctions] because it is a separate organization from North Korean groups and individuals and does not share profits with North Korea.”

Those hoping to pay individual tourist visits to North Korea would need to follow the prescribed legal procedures. Article 12-2 of the Enforcement Decree of the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act states that any South Korean national who intends to visit North Korea must obtain “documents confirming the intent of invitation of the North Korean authority or organizations” and approval by the Minister of Unification. The MOU hinted at a “flexible” approach to approving individual North Korea visits, stating that “the ‘documents confirming the intent of invitation’ are not specified, so different formats may be possible.”

In cases of South Koreans visiting the North via China or another third country, North Korean authorities would need to grant a visa. The MOU explained, “A North Korean [individual tourism] visa is a ‘guarantee of entry’ by North Korea authorities that may be viewed as ‘confirming the intent of invitation’ according to the Exchange and Cooperation Act.”

“Reviews to approve North Korea visits are scheduled to happen once we have concluded an agreement, contract, or other pledge with North Korea to guarantee the physical safety of South Korean tourists,” the MOU added, suggesting that visa-approved visits through third countries may be a possible approach.

Former Minister of Unification Lee Jong-seok said, “It does feel like a missed opportunity, since it might have had a substantial effect if these individual tourist visits had been actively pursued before [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un ordered the demolition of South Korean structures at Mt. Kumgang [in October 2019].”

“Rather than attaching other conditions and making the situation more complicated, the government needs to address this boldly and resolutely,” Lee advised.

Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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