[Fact check] Controversy surrounds exact figures of North Korea’s “visa expenses” for foreign journalists

International reporters prepare to board an Air Koryo charter flight (JS622) at Beijing Capital International Airport on May 22 to cover the closing of the Punggye Village nuclear test site, which is to take place from May 23 to 25. (photo pool)

Some media have cited amounts as large as US$10,000, while reporters covering Punggye test site say they paid anywhere from US$137 to 175

The issue of payments to North Korea by foreign journalists arriving there on May 22 to cover the closing of the Punggye Village nuclear test site is drawing attention. Some media have reported that the North demanded US$10,000 per journalist for “visa expenses.” Does the event – which has been seen as the first visible step toward denuclearization – represent a case of “visa-peddling” by the North?

As the foreign reporters were preparing to board an aircraft from Beijing Capital International Airport to Wonsan that morning, they were asked by South Korean reporters about whether they had paid North Korea US$10,000 for visas. Tim Schwarz of CNN replied that there had been no fee. Another foreign journalist was reported as saying they had “paid US$160 in advance” and anticipated “costs along the lines of a normal trip.”

In a May 15 announcement, North Korea said the invited journalists would be “responsible for all costs related to travel, accommodations, and communications.” One foreign journalist who agreed to talk to The Hankyoreh on condition of anonymity said the reporters had “paid similar visa expenses to a normal coverage visit in North Korea.”

An Air Koryo charter flight carrying international reporters from four countries leaves Beijing Capital International Airport for its destination at Kalma Airport in Wonsan, North Korea on May 22. (photo pool)

“I’m aware of the ‘US$10,000’ stories, but they are contrary to the facts,” the journalist said.

When asked the same question, APTN explained that it “has different procedures from the other places” because of its Pyongyang bureau.

In 2006, APTN became the first Western news outlet to establish a bureau in Pyongyang.

So how much are the “typical” visa issuance costs referred to by the foreign reporters for a visit to cover a story in North Korea?

According to multiple travel agencies selling North Korea travel packages in China and Europe, a tourism visa can be issued for 50 euros. They also reported additional costs that need to be paid for reporting in North Korea, but did not specify the amounts. A rough estimate can be achieved by considering the Day of the Sun (Kim Il-sung’s birthday) holiday in Apr. 2017, when North Korea invited around 200 foreign journalists to attend the completion ceremony for Ryomyong Street in Pyongyang.

In a piece on her experience covering the event, Reuters journalist Sue-Lin Wong said she had paid US$137 for her visa as an Australian, while US reporters had paid around US$175. Both are a long way from the purported “US$10,000” price tag.

“I’m not sure where the US$10,000 story came from,” a source at one foreign news site visiting North Korea said in a telephone interview with The Hankyoreh.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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