SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said Sunday it will allow its citizens staying abroad to return home in line with easing pandemic situations worldwide, as the country slowly eases its draconian coronavirus restrictions. North Korea banned tourists, jetted out diplomats and severely curtailed border traffic and trade after the pandemic began. Accepting new North Korean workers would violate a U.N. Security Council resolution that required member states to repatriate all North Korean laborers from their territories by late 2019. Given that North Korea intends to quarantine returnees for one week, Cheong said it seems unlikely North Korea would resume receiving Chinese and other foreign tourists anytime soon. In August 2022, North Korea made a highly dubious claim to have overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 27, 2023 12:02 UTC