North Korea to reopen tourism in 2015 after Ebola alert

North Korea is set to reopen to foreign tourism in the first quarter of 2015 after sealing its borders in October to prevent the entry of the Ebola virus, a major North Korean travel agency said Thursday.

The Koryo Tours agency explained on its website that, according to the latest information available, the temporary suspension of organized trips to North Korea would be lifted sometime in the first quarter of 2015.

The North Korean government banned the entry of foreign tourists on October 25 and all foreigners who entered the country since then were quarantined for 21 days the incubation period of the Ebola virus as a precautionary measure.

“Even though the exact date is yet to be confirmed, at this point we are confident that organized trips will take place again during this period,” the company said in a statement, and promised to provide new information as soon as the North Korean authorities facilitate it.

“A North Korean government official has confirmed to us that the Pyongyang Marathon which takes place on April 12, 2015, will be open to foreign tourists,” added the statement from Koryo Tours.

North Korea had previously closed its borders for several months in 2003 due to the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome, SARS, outbreak.

According to the latest data from the World Health Organization nearly 6,400 people have died this year due to the Ebola outbreak mainly in the three West African countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Conakry.