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Over 7,000 Russian tourists visit North Korea last year — minister

Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov said over 7,000 Russian tourists visited North Korea last year, and that demand for air travel between the two countries is growing. He cited interest in culture and recreational options, and noted that flights to Pyongyang began in July 2025. The remarks were made ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage May 31 – Jun 1, 2026 Published Aug 13

Lead

More than 7,000 Russian tourists visited North Korea last year, according to Russian Natural Resources Minister Alexander Kozlov, who spoke in an interview with the Russian state news agency TASS ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). Kozlov, who also serves as co-chairman of the Russia-North Korea intergovernmental commission, said the destination is becoming increasingly popular due to interest in the country's culture and a variety of recreational options.

Coverage Comparison

The report comes from two TASS articles, both citing Kozlov. The first article, published June 1, focuses on the growing demand for air travel between Russia and North Korea. The second, published May 31, highlights the tourism figures and the reasons behind North Korea's appeal. Both articles attribute all information directly to Kozlov, and the tone is neutral, with no negative or sensational language. No other sources have been included in the coverage provided.

Key Claims

Tourist numbers: Kozlov said that "last year more than 7,000 Russian tourists visited North Korea." He noted that it is premature to discuss full statistics for the current year, as the summer vacation season has not yet concluded.
Air travel demand: Kozlov stated that "demand for air travel is growing," citing high load factors on flights from Pyongyang to Moscow. He expects that interest in flights from Moscow to Pyongyang will also increase as tourist demand rises.
Flight routes: Flights to Pyongyang began operating in July 2025, and regular flights operate between Vladivostok and Pyongyang, operated by North Korean airline Air Koryo. Kozlov acknowledged that it is still difficult to assess the feasibility of launching a direct flight to Wonsan, a coastal city in North Korea.
Reasons for popularity: Kozlov attributed the growing interest in North Korea to "interest in the culture and the variety of recreational options available, from the Masikryong ski resort to the coastal tourist area in Wonsan."

Perspectives

Kozlov's remarks reflect the Russian government's view of expanding ties with North Korea, particularly in tourism and transport. The figures and statements come from a single source, TASS, which is a state-run agency, and have not been independently verified by other outlets or official records. The claims about tourist numbers and air travel demand are presented as direct quotes from the minister and should be treated as such.

This article was compiled from two TASS reports published ahead of SPIEF, which takes place June 3-6. The forum's theme is "Pragmatic Dialogue: The Path to a Stable Future." TASS serves as the forum's general information partner.

How this outlet told it

TASS — English as of Jun 1, 2026, 3:01 PM UTC

Framing: Economic cooperation — Neutral

Facts Included:

Demand for air travel between Russia and North Korea is growing
Flights from Pyongyang to Moscow have high load factors
Flights to Pyongyang began operating in July 2025
Regular flights operate between Vladivostok and Pyongyang

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of May 31, 2026, 8:31 AM UTC

Framing: Tourism — Neutral

Facts Included:

Over 7,000 Russian tourists visited North Korea last year
North Korea is gaining popularity due to interest in its culture and recreational options

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimDemand for air travel between Russia and North Korea is growing. Flights from Pyongyang to Moscow have high load factors.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 1, 2026, 3:01 PM UTC
ClaimFlights to Pyongyang began operating in July 2025.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 1, 2026, 3:01 PM UTC
ClaimRegular flights operate between Vladivostok and Pyongyang.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jun 1, 2026, 3:01 PM UTC
ClaimOver 7,000 Russian tourists visited North Korea last year.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 31, 2026, 8:31 AM UTC
ClaimNorth Korea is gaining popularity due to interest in its culture and recreational options.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of May 31, 2026, 8:31 AM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: TASS — English 5 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-13