This image of Dan Kelly posing for a photo at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang is captured from his Instagram account on May 23, 2015. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — North Korea has begun attracting participants for its annual Pyongyang International Marathon, scheduled for April, marking the resumption of the event after a six-year hiatus, if held as planned, a North Korean website showed Monday.
Sports in the DPR Korea, a website operated by North Korea’s sports ministry, carried application guidelines for the 31st Pyongyang International Marathon, scheduled for April 6.
The marathon competition was launched in 1981 to celebrate North Korean founder Kim Il-sung’s birthday on April 15 and had been held annually until it was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
If held as planned, the competition will be held for the first time in six years.
The North’s move raises speculation that the isolated country is beginning to lift its pandemic-related border controls in earnest to allow foreign travelers to bring in foreign currency.
The competition will cater both to professionals and amateurs, offering four course options: the full marathon, half marathon, 10 kilometers and 5 km.
The race will begin at Kim Il-sung Stadium in Pyongyang and pass by landmark sites in the North Korean capital, including the Pyongyang Grand Theatre and the Mangyongdae Children’s Palace.
Official letters will be sent by Jan. 20 to invite one male and one female marathoner from each country to compete in the professional race at the expense of North Korea, it said.
Amateur marathoners from East and Southeast Asian nations can apply via a travel agency affiliated with North Korea’s tourism bureau, while those from Singapore, China, Hong Kong and other regions must apply via a travel agency based in Beijing, it said.
The application fees are around US$150 for the full marathon, around $100 for the half marathon and approximately $70 for the shorter courses.
(Yonhap)
