North Korea has the first Pyongyang international marathon since the borders were sealed during the Covid pandemic

North Korea organized the first Pyongyang international marathon in six years on Sunday, welcoming international runners to the isolated autocratic nation that closed their borders to all strangers in 2020 when he hit the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 31st Pyongyang International Marathon attracted more than 500 participants, including more than 200 international runners, who came from nations, including North Koreaneighbors and allies Porcelain and Russia.

Open to both professionals and fans, the event had a marathon and half marathon, along with 10 kilometers and 5 kilometers, according to the information provided by the British travel agency Koryo Tours, based in China and organizes trips to North Korea for foreign travelers.

The only way for foreign visitors to arrive in North Korea to participate in the race is to buy a ticket of approximately $ 2,500 to join one of Koryo Tours’s package trips to the so -called Hermit kingdom. Those who participated 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 focused on the marathon.

The race route began at the Kim II Sung Stadium in the capital of North Korea, where more than 50,000 people gathered to encourage runners. According to the official website of the Marathon, the circular route welcomed “many of the iconic buildings, monuments and streets” of Pyongyang before “going out to the field on the outskirts of the urban center” and then going back.

A North Korean corridor was the first to cross the finish line in the main event, according to the country’s state television.

According to reports, the United States runners, South Korea and Malaysia were excluded from this year’s event registration due to the ongoing diplomatic tension between those countries and North Korea.

The Russian Embassy in North Korea said in a publication on social networks that five Russian citizens had participated in the event, with the embassy staff and their families that come to cheer them out.

The United States and many of its nearby allies have imposed a wide range of sanctions to North Korea, in addition to the multilateral sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council, for its Repeated weapons and nuclear tests. More recently, the United States has also sanctioned Pyongyang for its Provision of troops And another support for Russia while continuing his three years War against neighbor Ukraine.

For years, the United States Department of State warned Americans who do not travel to North Korea, with its highest alert level, a “not travel” notice, in force “due to the continuous risk of arrest and … the critical threat of illicit detention.”

• Kim Jong a Jong U
• Russia
• North Korea
• Marathon
• Pyongyang