Travel Risk Atlas

North Korea

Eastern Asia · Capital Pyongyang

Each opens that government's own advisory for North Korea — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

60.0 High risk
Atlas Risk Score · 191st safest of 220

Score raised to 60 by the advisory rule: governments currently advise against travel here. Why

aerial view of city buildings during daytime
Photo: Thomas Evans / Unsplash

Where the risk actually is

Risk is rarely spread evenly across a country. The base colour is the code the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs gives North Korea as a whole; shaded regions are those the UK Foreign Office names in an advisory against travel.

Chagang-do — Essential travel onlyHamgyŏng-bukto — Essential travel onlyHamgyŏng-namdo — Essential travel onlyHwanghae-bukto — Essential travel onlyHwanghae-namdo — Essential travel onlyHwanghae-namdo — Essential travel onlyHwanghae-namdo — Essential travel onlyHwanghae-namdo — Essential travel onlyHwanghae-namdo — Essential travel onlyKangwŏn-do — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngan-bukto — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngan-bukto — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngan-bukto — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngan-bukto — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngan-bukto — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngan-bukto — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngan-namdo — Essential travel onlyP'yŏngyang — Essential travel onlyRasŏn — Essential travel onlyRyanggang — Essential travel onlySupung Reservoir
What governments advise Essential travel only

What the warnings actually cover

  • Whole countryEssential travel only. Governments advise against all but essential travel to the whole country, not to particular regions — so there is no safer part of the map to aim for. Travel insurance is normally void here.

Shading marks whole regions named in an advisory, but a warning is often narrower — a border strip, one road, or a single city. Read the wording, and check the official advisory linked below.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Official advisories
25% of score
77/100
199th of 220
Crime
15% of score
76/100
215th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
62/100
170th of 220
Political stability
10% of score
51/100
161st of 220
Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly flooding, cyclones, earthquakes
46/100
161st of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
41/100
145th of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
38/100
135th of 220

Biggest factor here: official advisories. What the US, UK and Dutch governments currently tell their own citizens about travelling here.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
119
All tourism is escorted — your guides handle any emergency
Currency
KPW
Languages
Korean
Visa (EU passport)
Visa required
US: Visa required · UK: Visa required
Population
26.6m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Pyongyang
Driving
On the right
24.2 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, F
220-240V
Safely managed water
67%
Patchy — many households lack it · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+850
Malaria risk
6.9/10
INFORM exposure score — see a travel clinic

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Pyongyang, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around May to June, and September to October.

Daytime high freezing cold mild warm hot
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain.

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for North Korea:

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.