Claim: North Korea to launch medical tourism, targeting visitors from China.
Verdict: SUPPORTS

Retrieved passages:
title: Medical tourism
text: its platform increased fivefold over the previous year, and more than 500,000 Chinese visitors are expected to go on medical tourism. The top ten medical tourism destinations are Japan, Korea, the U.S., Taiwan, Germany, Singapore, Malaysia, Sweden, Thailand, and India. Regular health checks made up the majority share of Chinese medical tourism in 2016, representing over 50% of all medical tourism trips for tourists originating in China. All twelve of Hong Kong's private hospitals have been surveyed and accredited by the UK's Trent Accreditation Scheme since early 2001. Medical tourism is a growing sector in India. India is becoming the

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: own vehicles to Luo, a small North Korean northeast border region where they are free to explore, mingle, and photograph. This is seen as a first step toward expanded tourism and development in that region. , North Korea has been open to tourists during the winter. The Masikryong Ski Resort outside Wonsan City in Kangwon Province opened in early 2014. While tourists have historically been restricted to Pyongyang, some tours have recently been able to expand to other parts of the country such as Rajin (and the market there) and Chongjin. Tourists can take the plane to Pyongyang from Beijing,

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: Shenyang, Shanghai and Vladivostok, and train services to Pyongyang from Beijing, Dandong and Moscow. For Westerners, there are a handful of private tour operators that help provide access to North Korea. There has been a recent incident where a 21-year-old American student named Otto Warmbier was arrested at the airport before departure, allegedly for removing a propaganda poster from a wall in his hotel. Warmbier was at the time traveling with Chinese tour operator Young Pioneer Tours for a 5-day tourist trip to North Korea. He was convicted of "committing hostile acts" against the state (after allegedly stealing a propaganda

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: other western countries. Those groups that still offer access to all western nations include Uri Tours (known for its role in Dennis Rodman's and Eric Schmidt's trips to North Korea), Lupine Travel (a UK-based budget travel agency known for its DPRK Amateur Golf Open), Tongil Tours (with a focus on college tours and special delegations), and KTG (known for their small sized groups and affordable tours). FarRail Tours also takes tours to see operating steam railways and the Pyongyang Metro. In 2002, the area around Mount Kumgang, a scenic mountain close to the South Korea border, was designated as a

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: special tourist destination: Mount Kumgang Tourist Region. Tours run by private companies brought thousands of South Koreans to Mount Kŭmgang every year before the suspension of tours in late 2008 due to the shooting of a South Korean tourist. When tours had not resumed by May 2010, North Korea unilaterally announced that it would seize South Korean real estate assets in the region. In July 2005, the South Korean company Hyundai Group came to an agreement with the North Korean government to open up more areas to tourism, including Baekdu Mountain and Kaesong. Kaesong was opened to daily tours for

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: South Korean and foreign tourists in December 2007; North Korea charged US $180 for a one-day trip. The city received several hundred tourists each week, mostly South Koreans. The tours to Kaesong were suspended in December 2008 due to a political conflict between North and South Korean relating to propaganda balloons. The balloons, filled with information critical of Kim Jong-il and the North Korean regime, were sent into North Korea from just south of the border in South Korea. When South Korea did not respond to North Korean demands to stop the propaganda balloons, North Korea suspended the Kaesong tours.

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: In 2011, a Tumen-Korean train service was scheduled to start. Though gambling is prohibited for North Korean citizens, two casinos exist in North Korea for the Chinese tourist market – the Imperial Hotel & Casino in Rason and the Pyongyang Casino in the Yanggakdo International Hotel in Pyongyang. In 2016, the North Korea government allowed Chinese tourists to stay in North Korea for a maximum of 6 months. In principle, any person is allowed to travel to North Korea; only South Koreans and journalists are routinely denied, although there have been some exceptions for journalists. For instance, Croatian journalists had

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: The tours to Kaesong resumed in April 2010, but were again suspended in May 2010 following the ROKS "Cheonan" sinking. In April 2010, the first tourist trains from Dandong, China brought visitors to North Korea for a four-day tour. Before that, the international train from Beijing to Pyongyang was used as a tourist train. In June 2011, Chinese citizens were allowed on a self-driven tour in North Korea for the first time. As of January 2013, tourists are now able to bring their own mobile phones into North Korea, although without a North Korean SIM card (which became available to

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: foreigners) the phone will not be able to make or receive calls. Previously, foreigners had to surrender their phones at the border (or airport) before entering the country. The number of Chinese tourists visiting North Korea fell 70 percent from 2010 to 2011. One Chinese travel agency cited the limited number of packages and restrictions on where foreign tourists can travel as the main reasons for the lack of interest. Only the capital Pyongyang and Mount Kumgang are available on Chinese itineraries. Various places are accessible from the Chinese side, such as Namyang and monasteries in Chilbosan from Tumen, China.

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: poster from the restricted floor of his hotel) and sentenced to 15 years hard labor. He was later released and returned for humanitarian reasons but was in a coma which led to his death on 19 June 2017. As a result, the tour group stated that they would stop taking United States citizens to North Korea as the "risk is too high". Koryo Tours (known for its North Korean-related films such as "Comrade Kim Goes Flying" and strong history in the region) are also looking into their positions on the matter. It is unknown how this will affect tourism from

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: Tourism in North Korea Tourism in North Korea is tightly controlled by the North Korean government. Only about 4,000 to 6,000 Western tourists visit North Korea each year. All tourism is organized by one of several state-owned tourism bureaus, including Korea International Travel Company (KITC), Korean International Sports Travel Company (KISTC), Korean International Taekwondo Tourism Company (KITTC) and Korean International Youth Travel Company (KIYTC). Interactions between foreign tourists and local people have historically been tightly controlled; however, from photos seen around the Internet and evidence from travelers to North Korea, those restrictions seem to have relaxed slightly in the past

title: Tourism in North Korea
text: cause for arrest in the United States or other countries. The U.S. Department of State also states that it has received reports of North Korean authorities detaining U.S. citizens without charges and not allowing them to depart the country. North Korea has detained U.S. citizens who were part of organized tours. On February 1, 2017, the United States released a travel warning to United States citizens, warning would-be travelers of previous encounters and dangers in North Korea. Tourists must go on guided tours. , the northern border to China has been opened and Chinese citizens are free to drive their

title: Tourism in South Korea
text: tourism by nationality: China has been South Korea’s largest tourism source for years. In 2016, visitors from China made up 46.8% of tourists in South Korea. However China imposed the group tour ban after the US military started to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea. From April 2017, Chinese tourists plummeted by more than 60% compared to the previous year. Since Lee Myung-bak's visit to the Liancourt Rocks and his demand for an apology from the Emperor of Japan over Japanese colonialism in Korea in 2012, the Japanese public's image of South Korea deteriorated

title: Mount Kumgang Tourist Region
text: resort. In August 2008 the North Koreans announced that they would expel "unnecessary" South Korean workers from the resort. Before the closing of access after the 2008 shooting, other nationalities were also allowed to visit, by arranging 2½-day tours through a South Korean tourism agency. Despite the Lee Myung-bak government expressing a verbal anti-North Korean stance, the head of the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification, Kim Tae-u, proposed that the South Korean government renegotiate on the Mount Kumgang Tourist Region with North Korea without any official apology on North Korea's military actions towards the ROKS Cheonan sinking and the

title: Jeju Free International City Development Center
text: Group will build a medical R&D center, recreational and cultural facilities, and accommodations, investing some KRW1 trillion on approximately 778,000 square meters of JHT’s 1.54 million-square-meter site. On October 30, 2012, JDC held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Jeju Healthcare Town site in Seogwipo City to start construction of Greenland Jeju Healthcare Town. Greenland Korea Investment & Development LLC, founded by Green Group, hosted the ceremony. The development plan includes recreational condominiums in the first phase; Wellness Mall, Well-being Food Zone, and Healing Garden in the second phase; and R&D and anti-aging centers in the third phase. The Jeju Healthcare

title: Visa policy of North Korea
text: Visa policy of North Korea Visitors to North Korea must obtain a visa from one of the North Korean diplomatic missions. As of April 2017 holders of normal passports of all countries require a visa to visit North Korea. All visitors traveling for tourism require an authorization from a North Korean travel agency. An exception exists for Chinese tourists visiting only the Tongnim County who can stay in this county using the Chinese ID card instead of a visa and passport for up to two days. Most nationals may also visit Sinuiju for a day trip without a visa. Holders

title: Healthcare in South Korea
text: run by publicly owned universities. Payment is made on a fee-for-service basis. There is no direct government subsidy for hospitals. This encourages hospitals to expand and discourages community services. The Korea International Medical Association has been formed to encourage medical tourism. Nearly 400,000 medical tourists visited South Korea in 2013 and that number is projected to rise to 1 million by 2020. Compared to procedures done in the US, patients can save between 30 to 85% if they have the treatment in South Korea. It has been reported that some Korean hospitals charge foreign patients more than local patients due

title: Mount Kumgang Tourist Region
text: the resort. The resort is home to Hotel Haegumgang, a floating hotel that first operated on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. In July 2008, Park Wang-ja, a 53-year-old South Korean tourist, was shot twice and killed when she entered a military area, according to the North Korean government. The South Korean request for a joint inquiry was denied. Forensic tests done on Park suggest that she was standing still or walking slowly when shot. This contradicted the North Korean claim that she was running and did not heed warnings. Immediately after the shooting, the South Korean government suspended tours to the

title: Mount Kumgang
text: be one way for the North Korean government to receive hard currency from abroad. Therefore, the official currency of the tour is neither the South Korean won nor the North Korean won, but the US dollar. Since 2003, food and services to South Korean tourists are provided by some North Koreans. But most of the staff in the hotels are Chinese citizens of Korean heritage with Korean language skills. The area is developed by Hyundai Asan, which plans to expand the site with a proper ski resort to complement the current sleigh course, and complete golf courses. Many plans for

title: Wen Jiabao
text: advancing China's foreign policy positions, and became increasingly visible on the world stage as China's economic power expanded. He went on an official working visit to North Korea on 4 October 2009, the first time a Chinese Premier has visited North Korea since Li Peng's visit in 1991. He was greeted at the Pyongyang Airport by ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. Kim rarely greeted foreign dignitaries himself upon their arrival at the airport. Reuters believed this to be a show of solidarity from North Korea and that the country was serious in fostering a good relationship with China. Wen