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U.S. runners defy travel warning on North Korea
Source: USA Today
U.S. runners defy travel warning on North Korea
Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY 5:09 p.m. EDT April 15, 2015
BEIJING — As many as 100 U.S. citizens defied a State Department travel warning and visited North Korea this month to compete in a marathon that celebrated the birthday of the isolated regime's founder, Kim Il Sung.
The Americans left the capital of Pyongyang this week, praising the experience and the value of engaging with North Koreans, who live under a totalitarian system ruled for seven decades by Kim, his son and grandson.
The U.S. visitors, many whom live in Beijing and Asia, ran the marathon, half marathon and 10K races last Sunday, said Nicholas Bonner, co-founder of Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency that brought in nearly half of 600 foreign runners.
This was the second year that North Korea permitted foreigners to participate in the Mangyongdae Prize Marathon, named after Kim's birthplace. "This is the biggest ever total of U.S. visitors for one event," said Bonner, who has visited North Korea frequently since 1993.
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Calum MacLeod, USA TODAY 5:09 p.m. EDT April 15, 2015
BEIJING — As many as 100 U.S. citizens defied a State Department travel warning and visited North Korea this month to compete in a marathon that celebrated the birthday of the isolated regime's founder, Kim Il Sung.
The Americans left the capital of Pyongyang this week, praising the experience and the value of engaging with North Koreans, who live under a totalitarian system ruled for seven decades by Kim, his son and grandson.
The U.S. visitors, many whom live in Beijing and Asia, ran the marathon, half marathon and 10K races last Sunday, said Nicholas Bonner, co-founder of Koryo Tours, a Beijing-based travel agency that brought in nearly half of 600 foreign runners.
This was the second year that North Korea permitted foreigners to participate in the Mangyongdae Prize Marathon, named after Kim's birthplace. "This is the biggest ever total of U.S. visitors for one event," said Bonner, who has visited North Korea frequently since 1993.
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Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/04/15/beijing-north-korea-china-marathon/25771477/
