Representatives from two Western travel agencies crossed into North Korea Thursday for the first time since the isolated regime closed its borders five years ago, raising hopes for new tour offerings to a border city.

Western tour agencies entered North Korea for the first time on Thursday since the end of the pandemic, the companies said, voicing hopes the isolated country may soon reopen a border city to foreign visitors.

Rason, a city on the border with China, will open to foreign tourists, five years after Pyongyang sealed its frontiers over Covid-19.

The first tour is set to take place Feb. 12 to 18, when major celebrations are planned for the birthday of the country's late leader Kim Jong Il, one of North Korea's biggest holidays.

Koryo Tours opens bookings for North Korean border city trips to celebrate Kim Jong Il's birthday post-pandemic.

Foreign tour agents have entered North Korea for the first time since it closed its borders to tourism in 2020 due to COVID-19, to inspect new tourism sites, a tour agency's website said Friday, amid signs of Pyongyang reopening to foreign tourists.