BEIJING, China (AFP) — A Beijing-based North Korea tour operator expressed hopes of fresh business on Thursday following an unexpected announcement that the country would reopen to foreign tourists this winter.

Koryo Tours said on Wednesday they had received notice from isolated North Korea that tourism to the northeastern city of Samjiyon would resume in December after nearly five years of Covid-triggered closure.

“Our initial reaction is positive of course. It’s been a long wait,” Koryo Tours general manager Simon Cockerell told Agence France-Presse on Thursday.

“Demand has been strong throughout the closure so I would expect a decent rebound (in business),” he said, adding “there are a lot of folks who have been anxious and keen” to visit nuclear-armed North Korea since the pandemic.

KTG Tours, also based in China, said on its Facebook page Wednesday that it had been told “tourists will be able to go to Samjiyon (Mt. Paektu area) this winter.”

“Exact dates to be confirmed. So far, just Samjiyon has been officially confirmed but we think that Pyongyang and other places will open, too!” it said.