Is it because of travel stories from visitors? Tourism in Rason, a northeastern city where North Korea has opened its doors for the first time in five years, suspended

Last month, North Korea resumed accepting group tourists from around the world for the first time in five years since the COVID-19 outbreak, but only in the northeastern special economic zone of Rason.
It was revealed that the border was suspended in late January 2020. The exact reason is unclear. North Korea quickly closed its borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, thoroughly preventing the inflow of the virus and infected people.
At the time, while the infection was spreading around the world, North Korea continued to claim for a long time that there were no infected people in the country, although the truth of this was unclear. However, in May 2022, the first confirmed cases of infection were reported.
At the time, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported, "A major emergency incident of national importance has occurred, which has created a hole in the emergency quarantine front that has been firmly maintained for two years and three months since February 2020."
The government announced that there were cases of infection with the Omicron variant of COVID-19. This announcement came as a shock to the world, as the government had been claiming "zero cases" up until that point.
North Korea has been strictly controlling the borders and restricting the movement of people and goods, but in July 2023, the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice agreement will come.
Travel between the two countries was gradually resumed, with Russian defense ministers and members of the Chinese Communist Party's Politburo invited to the commemorative event. In August of the same year, North Korea's state-run Air Koryo began flying between Pyongyang and Beijing, as well as to Russia's Far East.
The planes resumed service between the airport and Radiostok. It was the first time in about three and a half years that North Korea had operated international flights. At the time, passenger aircraft carried North Korean passengers who had been stranded in China and Russia due to border closures.
Residents boarded planes one after another to return home. Then, in September of the same year, foreigners were allowed to enter the country for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. The background to this was that the country was hoping to eventually normalize the entry of foreign tourists and business people.
It is believed that the aim was to revitalize the economy. In 2018, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of foreign tourists visiting North Korea was approximately 200,000.
North Korea subsequently restricted the entry of tourists to some areas, including the capital, Pyongyang, but only to those from Russia, with whom North Korea has built close ties.
Last month, the Rason Special Economic Zone resumed accepting foreign tourists from around the world, excluding Americans and South Koreans. Rason is located on the border with China and Russia.
The economic zone facing the city is known as a tourist city rich in nature, and before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was visited by many tourists from China, Russia, and other countries. Since reopening for the first time in five years, tourists from France, Germany, the UK, and other countries have been coming.
Last month, tour groups from Western countries also visited the area. After that, travel stories of tourists who visited the area were reported through Western media.
In an interview with the media, he said, "I was surprised that North Korean people do not try to hide their poverty." On the 1st of this month, the British public broadcaster BBC reported, "I went to North Korea for the first time since tourism resumed in North Korea.
The article was titled "British People" and featured interviews with tourists and travel agency staff who had visited North Korea. A British YouTuber who responded to the interview said, "North Korea is a country with strict control.
I knew about it, but the level of control I experienced was beyond my imagination. Even when I wanted to go to the toilet, I had to inform the guide. I have never experienced anything like this anywhere else in the world.
"The YouTuber also visited a facility during his stay, and when he wrote "I pray for world peace" in his visitor's notebook, a guide approached him and pointed out that the content was inappropriate.
One of the tour leaders said, "It was like a school trip. Without a guide, we couldn't even go outside."
North Korea has resumed accepting tourists from around the world for the first time in five years, with the main focus on Rason.
According to a report from a North Korea expert in Beijing, China, North Korea has decided to temporarily suspend the acceptance of tourists to Rason and notified them.
"This is an unprecedented situation. We are working hard to assess the situation and will provide updates as new information becomes available," said travel agency Koryo Tours.
A G Tours official said, "We don't know the reason or how long the suspension of tourism will last." The reason why North Korea decided to suspend the acceptance of tourists is unclear, but Kyodo News reported that "there is a reason for the suspension of tourism from the West."
"Some believe that this was influenced by tourists making derogatory remarks about North Korea."