SEOUL: North Korea on Sunday is holding its first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years, hosting foreign runners in the reclusive country that had largely closed its borders during the pandemic.
Athletes from China, Romania and other countries have arrived in North Korea to participate in the event, state media KCNA news agency and Rodong Sinmun reported on Sunday.
About 200 travellers came into Pyongyang on Friday and Saturday, and runners from overseas practiced at a hotel in Pyongyang for the Sunday race, said Simon Cockerell, general manager at Beijing-based Koryo Tours, in his Instagram posts showing streets and a recreational area in Pyongyang.
The Koryo Tours is the official partner of the Pyongyang Marathon, helping arrange the sign-up process for international visitors for the event.
The isolated state sealed its borders in 2020 at the start of the pandemic but has been slowly lifting restrictions since 2023.
It allowed some Russian tourist groups into the country but its capital still remains closed to regular tourism.
The marathon is a return course run through central Pyongyang, passing Pyongyang’s landmarks, heading out into the countryside just outside of the city centre, and coming back to the stadium with a crowd of 50,000 locals, according to Koryo Tours.
The Pyongyang International Marathon is one of the events celebrating the April 15 birthday of Kim Il Sung, North Korea’s founder and grandfather of the current leader Kim Jong Un.
