A tourist takes a selfie during a visit to a subway station in Pyongyang on July 23, 2017. The Westerners lined up before giant statues of North Korea聮s founder Kim Il-Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong-Il on Sunday and, on command from their guide, bowed deeply 鈥� a ritual that the Trump administration intends to stop US tourists performing, with Washington due to impose a ban on its citizens holidaying in the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea (DPRK), as the North is officially known. AFP
The Westerners lined up聽on Sunday聽before giant statues of North Korea鈥檚 founder Kim Il-Sung and his son and successor Kim Jong-Il and, on command from their guide, bowed deeply.
It is a ritual that the Trump administration intends to stop US tourists performing, with Washington due to impose a ban this week on its citizens holidaying in the Democratic People鈥檚 Republic of Korea (DPRK), as the North is officially known.
The move comes amid heightened tensions over Pyongyang鈥檚 nuclear and missile ambitions -鈥� it launched a rocket earlier this month which specialists say could reach Alaska or Hawaii -鈥� and after the death of US student Otto Warmbier, who had been imprisoned for more than a year by Pyongyang.
Warmbier was convicted of crimes against the state and sentenced to 15 years鈥� hard labor for trying to steal a propaganda poster from a Pyongyang hotel. He was sent home in June in a mysterious coma that proved fatal soon afterwards.
Most tourists to North Korea are motivated by curiosity and the desire to experience a different destination.
The iconic 20-meter-high (66-feet) statues at Mansu hill look out over Pyongyang and groups of North Koreans in suits and ties arrive regularly to pay their respects. Passing traffic is obliged to slow down.
As the tourists reached the platform speakers played 鈥淲e miss our general鈥�, about Kim Jong-Il, the father of current leader Kim Jong-Un.
鈥淧resident Kim Il-Sung liberated our country and built a people鈥檚 paradise on this land,鈥� they were told.
Call centrer manager Kyle Myers, 28, from Ireland, said he wanted 鈥渢o go somewhere very different from what I鈥檓 used to鈥� for his first trip to Asia, 鈥渢o see something that not a lot of people from back home have seen鈥�.
The mounting tensions in the year since he booked the tour had made him nervous, he said, but he added: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see the threat here for tourists as long as they behave themselves and they follow the rules of the country.鈥�
鈥楢 little disquieting鈥�
Some of the visitors 鈥� who paid from 1,850 euros ($2,157) for the tour 鈥� expressed enthusiasm. Australian IT manager Pallavi Phadke, 43, was among those who placed a bouquet before the statues.
It was 鈥渁 sign of respect鈥�, she told AFP. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the same as covering your head when you go to a mosque or removing your shoes when you go to a temple.
鈥淭he people seem happy, they certainly don鈥檛 appear to be oppressed or anything,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very proud of their country, they鈥檙e proud of their history and it鈥檚 nice to watch them be patriotic.鈥�
Many disagree, with the United Nations, multiple Western governments and independent groups accusing Pyongyang of widespread human rights violations.
Other tourists were more sceptical. Mark Hill, a writer and editor from Calgary in Canada, compared the statues to 鈥渁 very grim Mount Rushmore鈥�.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all very impressive and also a little disquieting,鈥� he said.
For years the US State Department has warned its citizens against travelling to North Korea, telling them that they are 鈥� at serious risk of arrest and long-term detention under North Korea鈥檚 system of law enforcement鈥�, which 鈥渋mposes unduly harsh sentences for actions that would not be considered crimes in the United States鈥�, including showing disrespect to the country鈥檚 leaders and proselytising.
It is 鈥渆ntirely possible that money spent by tourists in the DPRK鈥� goes to fund its weapons programs, it adds.
The ban will go into force 30 days after it is formally declared, said department spokeswoman Heather Nauert, and 鈥淯S passports will be invalid for travel to, through and in North Korea鈥�.
鈥楳onolithic evil force鈥�
The vast majority of tourists to North Korea are from China, its sole major ally and key provider of trade and aid.
Americans make up around 20 percent of the 4,000 to 5,000 Western tourists who go to the country each year, according to Simon Cockerell of Koryo Tours, the leader in the niche market, which brought聽厂耻苍诲补测鈥檚聽visitors to Pyongyang.
Warmbier鈥檚 death had already hammered the market, he said, with bookings down 50 percent since then.
鈥淚t鈥檚 would-be customers鈥� perceptions that anybody can make a mistake,鈥� he told AFP. 鈥淎nd almost everyone in their lives has made some mistake and of course they don鈥檛 want the consequences of that mistake to be so devastating.鈥�
But Washington鈥檚 move, he said, was self-defeating. As well as the potential ramifications for North Koreans who earn their living from tourism, he said, it would 鈥渃ompletely eliminate any human interaction between United States citizens and North Korean citizens鈥�.
Pyongyang鈥檚 state propaganda about the US was 鈥�100 percent negative鈥�, he said, but contacts between tourists and locals 鈥渨ork against the idea that foreigners are some kind of monolithic evil force out to undermine the North Koreans鈥�.
鈥淭he idea that tourism is somehow sustaining the government is absurd,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he numbers are very low, the revenues are very low.鈥�
Young Pioneer Tours, the firm which brought Warmbier to the North, had already said it would no longer take US citizens to the country.
础尘辞苍驳听厂耻苍诲补测鈥檚聽tour group was comedy writer Evan Symon, from Los Angeles, who as a result of Washington鈥檚 ban is likely to be one of the last American tourists to the country for several years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just what happened,鈥� he said. 鈥淜ind of cool in a way, I guess.鈥�