North Korea is the commonly used short form name for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (or DPRK), a state located in East Asia, in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula, with its capital and largest city being the city of Pyongyang.
To the south, separated by the Korean Demilitarized Zone, lies South Korea, with which it formed one nation until division following World War II. At its northern Amnok River border are China and, separated by the Tumen River in the extreme north-east, Russia.
Tourism in North Korea is organized by the state owned Tourism Organisation (Ryohaengsa). Every group of travelers as well as individual tourist/visitors are permanently accompanied by one or two guides who normally speak the mother tongue of the tourist. The whole program is dictated by the guides; any contact with North Koreans is subdued, whenever possible. While tourism has increased over the last few years, tourists from Western countries remain few. The majority of the tourists that do go come from China and Japan. For citizens of the US and South Korea it is practically impossible to obtain a visa for North Korea.
