Running News Daily

North Korea cancels Pyongyang marathon for fifth straight year

North Korea has called off its annual international marathon for the fifth consecutive year, but could reschedule the event for later in 2024 as the isolated country gradually eases longstanding border restrictions.

The Pyongyang Marathon Committee confirmed that the Pyongyang International Marathon will not be held as scheduled in April, North Korea-focused travel company and official event partner Koryo Tours announced in a blog post on Tuesday.

First held in 1981, the event has traditionally taken place around the time of founding leader Kim Il Sung’s birth anniversary on April 15, commemorated in the DPRK as the Day of the Sun, but a lack of time to prepare ahead of the national holiday appears to have prompted this year’s cancellation.

Simon Cockerell, general manager of Koryo Tours, told NK News that the organizers did not give a specific reason for calling off the marathon, but added that they likely faced challenges in including enough elite foreign runners required to stage a World Athletics Bronze Label event.

“As this cannot be confirmed, and as time is getting closer, it is likely they just decided that the correct operation of the race couldn’t be guaranteed,” he said.

The Pyongyang International Marathon last took place in 2019, with subsequent editions canceled as the country completely shut its borders in Jan. 2020 due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, according to the Koryo Tours blog post, there is still “a glimmer of hope” for those keen to participate in the race as it could be held later this year, likely in September or October.

Cockerell stated that the potential rescheduling remains under discussion and organizers have yet to officially confirm the September-October timeline, which could partly depend on when North Korea eases its stringent border restrictions for foreign visitors.

The DPRK has yet to fully reopen to foreigners despite occasional exceptions since last year for engagement with close partners Russia and China.

However, a Vladivostok travel agency may soon open the door for the return of visitors from overseas with a group tour scheduled for February, which could serve as a trial run ahead of reported plans to resume regular tourism in April.

The Pyongyang International Marathon has been a popular attraction for tourists since the event started allowing foreign amateurs to enter in 2014, but Koryo Tours stressed that the cancellation should not be seen as an indicator of when North Korea will reopen for tourists.

Noting that the marathon took place for decades without tourists, Cockerell views the lack of elite foreign athletes as the bigger barrier.

“If tourism resumes tomorrow, or soon, or before the April planned date for the race, then it still will be canceled,” he said. “I believe it is simply down to not [having] enough time remaining to organize such an event.”

Cockerell added that the marathon’s organizers have no inside knowledge or influence regarding the border reopening, but welcomed their openness to the idea of postponing it until later in the year.

“It is the one marathon in the country, after all, and there is a motive to use it to give competitive practice to possible international-level runners from the DPRK,” he said. “So I’m sure the relevant organs there very much want it to go ahead somehow.”

While Pyongyang has called off its high-profile marathon for now, a scheduled women’s soccer match between the DPRK and Japan in late February could present a valuable opportunity to gauge the country’s readiness to host international sporting events.

State media has not yet confirmed the match will go ahead as scheduled at Pyongyang’s Kim Il Sung Stadium, but if it does, it will mark the first time foreign sportspersons are allowed to enter North Korea since before the pandemic.