After more than three years of Covid-induced isolation, North Korea will allow foreign nationals to visit the country beginning Monday, according to Chinese official media.

North Korea has been essentially cut off from the rest of the world since early 2020, when it locked its borders in reaction to the COVID-19 epidemic, barring even its own citizens from entering.

However, it is beginning to reopen this month, with leader Kim Jong Un visiting Russia to meet with President Vladimir Putin and sending athletes to compete in the Asian Games in China’s eastern city of Hangzhou.

Beijing’s state television CCTV said Monday, citing a correspondent, that North Korea has stated it would allow outsiders to enter its country.

They will be subject to a two-day quarantine upon arrival, the report added.

It did not give further information about the source of the announcement.

North Korean state media did not carry any news of a border reopening.

One Chinese operator of tours to North Korea, Dandong Strait National Tours, told followers on social media site WeChat: “At the moment tours haven’t resumed. Wait patiently.”