Latest news with #31stPyongyangInternationalMarathon
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
North Korea marathon resumes 6 years after COVID, but it's not for everyone
North Korea hosted the first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years on Sunday, welcoming international runners to the isolated autocratic nation that closed its borders to all outsiders in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The 31st Pyongyang International Marathon drew more than 500 participants, including over 200 international runners, who came from nations including North Korea's neighbors and allies China and Russia. Open to both professionals and amateurs, the event featured a marathon and half-marathon, along with 10-kilometer and 5-kilometer races, according to information provided by the British travel agency Koryo Tours, which is based in China and organizes trips to North Korea for foreign travelers. The only way for foreign visitors to get into North Korea to take part in the race is to buy a roughly $2,500 ticket to join one of Koryo Tours' package trips to the so-called Hermit Kingdom. Those who took part in this year's race from abroad first had to get to Beijing for the flight to Pyongyang. The six-day tour package offered by Koryo was centered around the marathon. The race route started at Kim II Sung Stadium in the North Korean capital, where more than 50,000 people were gathered to cheer the runners on. According to the marathon's official website, the circular route took in "many of the iconic buildings, monuments and streets" of Pyongyang before "heading out into the countryside just outside of the urban center" and then looping back. A North Korean runner was the first to cross the finish line in the main event, according to the country's state-run television. Runners from the United States, South Korea and Malaysia were reportedly excluded from this year's event registration due to ongoing diplomatic tension between those countries and North Korea. The Russian Embassy in North Korea said in a social media post that five Russian nationals had participated in the event, with embassy staff and their families coming to cheer them on. The U.S. and many of its close allies have imposed a wide range of sanctions on North Korea — in addition to multilateral sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council — for its repeated weapons and nuclear tests. More recently, the U.S. has also sanctioned Pyongyang for its provision of troops and other support for Russia as it continues its three-year war on neighboring Ukraine. The U.S. State Department has for years warned Americans against traveling to North Korea, with its highest level of alert — a "Do not travel" advisory — in place "due to the continuing serious risk of arrest and … the critical threat of wrongful detention." Greenlanders respond to Trump: "It will never be for sale" "Warfare": Recreating an Iraq War firefight in real-time José Andrés on feeding the needy, and feeding the soul
CBS News
07-04-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
North Korea holds first Pyongyang International Marathon since borders were sealed during COVID pandemic
North Korea hosted the first Pyongyang International Marathon in six years on Sunday, welcoming international runners to the isolated autocratic nation that closed its borders to all outsiders in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic struck. The 31st Pyongyang International Marathon drew more than 500 participants, including over 200 international runners, who came from nations including North Korea 's neighbors and allies China and Russia. Open to both professionals and amateurs, the event featured a marathon and half-marathon, along with 10-kilometer and 5-kilometer races, according to information provided by the British travel agency Koryo Tours, which is based in China and organizes trips to North Korea for foreign travelers. The only way for foreign visitors to get into North Korea to take part in the race is to buy a roughly $2,500 ticket to join one of Koryo Tours' package trips to the so-called Hermit Kingdom. Those who took part in this year's race from abroad first had to get to Beijing for the flight to Pyongyang. The six-day tour package offered by Koryo was centered around the marathon. The race route started at Kim II Sung Stadium in the North Korean capital, where more than 50,000 people were gathered to cheer the runners on. According to the marathon's official website , the circular route took in "many of the iconic buildings, monuments and streets" of Pyongyang before "heading out into the countryside just outside of the urban center" and then looping back. A North Korean runner was the first to cross the finish line in the main event, according to the country's state-run television. Runners from the United States, South Korea and Malaysia were reportedly excluded from this year's event registration due to ongoing diplomatic tension between those countries and North Korea. The Russian Embassy in North Korea said in a social media post that five Russian nationals had participated in the event, with embassy staff and their families coming to cheer them on. The U.S. and many of its close allies have imposed a wide range of sanctions on North Korea — in addition to multilateral sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council — for its repeated weapons and nuclear tests . More recently, the U.S. has also sanctioned Pyongyang for its provision of troops and other support for Russia as it continues its three-year war on neighboring Ukraine . The U.S. State Department has for years warned Americans against traveling to North Korea, with its highest level of alert — a "Do not travel" advisory — in place "due to the continuing serious risk of arrest and … the critical threat of wrongful detention."
Korea Herald
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
First foreign runners since 2019 hit Pyongyang, stirring hopes of North Korea reopening
North Korea opened its doors to foreign participants at the Pyongyang International Marathon on Sunday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a six-year hiatus. The event has drawn attention to whether the opening is a symbolic gesture toward a broader move to reopen the country to foreign tourism on a full scale. North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon was held to mark the anniversary of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung's birth, which falls on April 15. 'The event featured full marathon, half marathon, 10km, and 5km races, and included athletes from North Korea, China, Romania, Morocco, and Ethiopia, as well as marathon enthusiasts from various countries and regions around the world,' KCNA said in a Korean-language dispatch. In the elite marathon race, North Korean runners swept the boards with the men's and women's titles going to home-based competitors. The host country also swept the podium at the half marathon, taking gold, silver and bronze in both men's and women's events. Among amateur competitors, Polish runners swept the top three spots in the men's marathon, while a Hong Kong competitor took the women's amateur event, KCNA added. 'Around 200 foreign athletes from 46 countries are said to have participated, raising attention to whether this could signal the full resumption of foreign tourism,' Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson for the Unification Ministry, said of the marathon during a regular press briefing Monday. 'There was a recent case where North Korea resumed tourism for foreigners, only to suspend it again. The fact that the Pyongyang marathon race was held as scheduled under such circumstances is deemed as North Korea's intention to resume tourism to foreign visitors," Koo added. The marathon took place about a month after North Korea abruptly closed the special economic zone in the northeastern border city of Rason to foreign tourists — excluding South Korean and US citizens — in early March, following a brief reopening that began on Feb. 20. Rason was the first region in the country to reopen to tourism during the pandemic. Young Pioneer Tours, an independent tourism agency specializing in tours to North Korea, said the country remains officially closed to tourism as of Sunday, however. Koryo Tours, the sole foreign operator licensed to register amateur entrants, said Sunday that this year's 2025 Pyongyang Marathon took place on the same day, and over 500 participants took the capital's roads. 'Among them were around 200 international amateur runners, making this one of the most diverse editions yet — with many countries represented,' Koryo Tours, an independent British tour operator based in Beijing, said on its website. According to a list of medal winners put together by Koryo Tours, the elite category featured athletes from at least two countries — North Korea and Ethiopia. The amateur races drew participants from at least 13 countries: Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom. Professional runners were invited by North Korean authorities in accordance with strict qualifying times, according to a previous notice from North Korea's Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports. But amateur participants had different registration procedures: those from East and Southeast Asia, except for Singapore and Hong Kong, registered through North Korea's state agencies, while the others, including Singapore and Hong Kong, were required to register through Koryo Tours.
Associated Press
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Hundreds of runners took part in the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon, the first race of its kind in Nort Korea since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Video North Korea runs its international marathon for first time since Covid Hundreds of runners took part in the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon, the first race of its kind in Nort Korea since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Korea Herald
07-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
First foreign runners since 2019 hit Pyongyang, stirring hopes of reopening
North Korea opened its doors to foreign participants at the Pyongyang International Marathon on Sunday for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a six-year hiatus. The event has drawn attention to whether the opening is a symbolic gesture toward a broader move to reopen the country to foreign tourism on a full scale. North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon was held to mark the anniversary of the country's late founder Kim Il-sung's birth, which falls on April 15. 'The event featured full marathon, half marathon, 10km, and 5km races, and included athletes from North Korea, China, Romania, Morocco, and Ethiopia, as well as marathon enthusiasts from various countries and regions around the world,' KCNA said in a Korean-language dispatch. In the elite marathon race, North Korean runners swept the boards with the men's and women's titles going to home-based competitors. The host nation also swept the podium at the half marathon, taking gold, silver and bronze in both men's and women's events. Among amateur competitors, Polish runners swept the top three spots in the men's marathon, while a Hong Kong competitor took the women's amateur event, KCNA added. 'Around 200 foreign athletes from 46 countries are said to have participated, raising attention to whether this could signal the full resumption of foreign tourism,' Koo Byoung-sam, spokesman for the unification ministry, said of the marathon during a regular press briefing Monday. Koryo Tours, the sole foreign operator licensed to register amateur entrants, said Sunday that this year's 2025 Pyongyang Marathon took place on the same day, and over 500 participants took the capital's roads. 'Among them were around 200 international amateur runners, making this one of the most diverse editions yet—with many countries represented,' Koryo Tours, an independent British tour operator based in Beijing, said on its website. According to a list of medal winners put together by Koryo Tours, the elite category featured athletes from at least two countries — North Korea and Ethiopia. The amateur races drew participants from at least 13 nations: Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Macau, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom. Professional runners were invited by North Korean authorities in accordance with strict qualifying times, according to a previous notice from North Korea's Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports. But amateur participants had different registration procedures: those from East and Southeast Asia, except for Singapore and Hong Kong, registered through North Korea's state agencies, while the others, including Singapore and Hong Kong, were required to register through Koryo Tours. The marathon took place about a month after North Korea abruptly closed the special economic zone in the northeastern border city of Rason to foreign tourists — excluding South Korean and US citizens — in early March, following a brief reopening that began on Feb. 20. Rason was the first region in the country to reopen to tourism during the pandemic. Young Pioneer Tours, an independent tourism agency specializing in tours to North Korea, said the country remains officially closed to tourism as of Sunday.
