1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:01,840 Speaker 1: God feather Do for Seelan. 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:04,480 Speaker 2: North Korea is set to allow tourists back into the 3 00:00:04,480 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 2: country after nearly five years of COVID restrictions. The country 4 00:00:07,320 --> 00:00:10,119 Speaker 2: has two main tourism operators and these guys are going 5 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:12,039 Speaker 2: to start the trips again from December this year. The 6 00:00:12,119 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 2: last set of tourists to visit the country were Russian 7 00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:18,560 Speaker 2: in an attempt to strengthen diplomatic ties now. Mark Kreisel 8 00:00:18,640 --> 00:00:20,960 Speaker 2: is a former tivs Et Sunday journalists who's actually traveled 9 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 2: to North Korea before. He is with me now in studio. 10 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: Hey Mark, Hello Heather, how would you go? 11 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,560 Speaker 2: Well, first of all, how are you very well? Nice 12 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:31,720 Speaker 2: to see your face. Yeah. Now would you go there 13 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:32,360 Speaker 2: as a tourist? 14 00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: I would recommend it. 15 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 2: I would. 16 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 1: I've been so I don't need to go back and 17 00:00:37,400 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: I'm happy about that. 18 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:39,519 Speaker 2: Is it the once? Is it a visit once? 19 00:00:39,600 --> 00:00:41,519 Speaker 1: It's like going to the moon. Every other country in 20 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:44,600 Speaker 1: the world is pretty much the same now because the globalization, 21 00:00:44,800 --> 00:00:47,440 Speaker 1: same shops, things like faces and languages are different, but 22 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: the experiences can be the same. North Korea is like 23 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 1: going to the moon, and when you go inside, it's 24 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: like being sealed in a tupperware container. 25 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, you don't need to go back because you've 26 00:00:57,960 --> 00:00:59,600 Speaker 2: been there. I've never been there. Should I go? 27 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:04,040 Speaker 1: Be brave and go because it's fascinating. And that's one 28 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: of the great things about travel, isn't it that you 29 00:01:05,920 --> 00:01:08,480 Speaker 1: go to places that people haven't been before. We were 30 00:01:08,520 --> 00:01:10,840 Speaker 1: lucky enough to go to places that no foreigners had 31 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,679 Speaker 1: ever been before in North Korea. And what you'll see 32 00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: is what they want you to see when you go. 33 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,200 Speaker 1: You'll see Peongyang, which is like looks like a set 34 00:01:19,319 --> 00:01:22,040 Speaker 1: in the Jetsons or something like that. But just be 35 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 1: aware that you'll be followed and watched and monitored with 36 00:01:25,200 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: everything you do. We were in our rooms in a 37 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:31,520 Speaker 1: place called Sanuju in the north, just near over the 38 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:36,160 Speaker 1: river from Dandong and China, and we said, because we've 39 00:01:36,200 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 1: had all our books taken office at the border. We said, 40 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 1: we're sitting in the room my cameraman and producer Luisa, 41 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:44,080 Speaker 1: and I said, oh, man, I wish we'd brought some cards. 42 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: The next morning, they brought us some cards. 43 00:01:46,720 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 2: Have they got microphones or just microphones? 44 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:51,360 Speaker 1: I don't know. I guess I don't know. God, I 45 00:01:51,400 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 1: would hope they didn't have cameras. 46 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 2: Did you jump out of the shower so fast and 47 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 2: get dressed so fast? 48 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: No, I'm not shy. 49 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 2: Okay, you've got new tendencies. 50 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:02,920 Speaker 1: They're only human. 51 00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:04,040 Speaker 2: What's there to see? 52 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:08,120 Speaker 1: Oh, it's just fascinating to be in another culture. 53 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:09,440 Speaker 2: Only do they have monuments. 54 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,359 Speaker 1: They have monuments so that those monuments of the two 55 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: leaders are incredible. But you have to be so careful 56 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: that you don't do anything silly around them or disrespect 57 00:02:18,120 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: what they were assuming to be disrespectful. I took a 58 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: photo of my cameraman, Martin, in front of a big 59 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,720 Speaker 1: portrait in our lobby of the two first two leaders 60 00:02:26,720 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: who are revered. I went up to my bedroom. There 61 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: was a knock at my door. Who was two policemen 62 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: wanted to see the photo. Oh yeah, okay, yeah, So 63 00:02:35,360 --> 00:02:39,639 Speaker 1: you become well I did. I became quite paranoid and claustrophobic. 64 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: So it's quite happy to leave the country when we did. 65 00:02:42,240 --> 00:02:44,679 Speaker 1: But we were, like I say, going to places that 66 00:02:44,840 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: were where foreigners don't normally go. We had a big 67 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: entourage with US people who said they were scientists and journalists. 68 00:02:51,000 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: They were probably secret police people things like that. So 69 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,040 Speaker 1: we couldn't. We couldn't leave our hotel without an escort. 70 00:02:57,320 --> 00:02:59,919 Speaker 2: So it's not a relaxing place. It's not like going 71 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 2: to feed you. 72 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: But they have a ski resort there, which is apparently 73 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: really and they're poured money into it. And apparently the 74 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:08,320 Speaker 1: beaches are quite nice, because remember when Trump had his 75 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: meeting with Kim John and Singapore and he pitched condos 76 00:03:14,400 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: on the beach there, so apparently the beaches are quite nice. 77 00:03:17,400 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 2: Okay, all right, I don't know that you've sold it 78 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:21,760 Speaker 2: to me, but I suppose just once be brave, once 79 00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 2: you've seen everything else in the world, Right, you could 80 00:03:23,760 --> 00:03:26,320 Speaker 2: go there and try this one when you're eighty on 81 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:28,880 Speaker 2: a bus. Yeah, okay, go to North Korea. But do 82 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:30,560 Speaker 2: it when you're young so you can run away. Just 83 00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:33,840 Speaker 2: don't drop my name here, Mike, Thank you so much appreciated. 84 00:03:33,919 --> 00:03:36,240 Speaker 2: I'm glad you made it out in one piece. Mark Kreisel, 85 00:03:36,800 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 2: journalist who's obviously been there, nineteen Away from Sex. 86 00:03:40,080 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: For more from Hither Duplessy Allen Drive, listen live to 87 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:46,360 Speaker 1: news talks he'd be from four pm weekdays, or follow 88 00:03:46,440 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: the podcast on iHeartRadio.