North Korea bans foreigners from Pyongyang marathon over Ebola fears
At least 40 Hong Kong residents will miss the chance to jog along the broad avenues of Pyongyang after North Korea barred foreigners from joining the capital's marathon because of Ebola travel restrictions.
At least 40 Hong Kong residents will miss the chance to jog along the broad avenues of Pyongyang after North Korea barred foreigners from joining the capital's marathon because of Ebola travel restrictions, according to a travel agency that specialises in the reclusive state.
Nick Bonner, co-founder of Beijing-based Koryo Tours, told the that a North Korean sports official based in Beijing as well as a business partner in Pyongyang yesterday confirmed the race would be off limits to foreigners.
"It's just Ebola, not anything else, not political reasons," said Bonner. "We've got 500 runners waiting to go; it's a big hit for us." Some 120 joined the Pyongyang marathon through the agency last year, he said.
The annual race, which this year takes place on April 12, was open to foreign recreational runners for the first time last year, with 225 amateurs and a number of professionals taking part.
About 500 competitors had signed up with Koryo for this year's event, with tours listed at €790 (HK$6,985) for a three-day trip or €1,690 for one week.
Bonner said 40 were Hong Kong-based expatriates and about five participants held Hong Kong passports.
The competitors were of various nationalities, he said, including 23 per cent from Britain, 20 per cent from the United States and others from mostly Western countries.
The agency does not accept applications from mainland Chinese.
But the company remains hopeful that two runs in North Korea planned for later this year - a 10km charity run in Pyongyang in June and a half-marathon in Mount Paektu, the supposed "sacred" birthplace of former leader Kim Jong-il, in August - will go ahead as planned for those marathon competitors who signed up for them as alternatives to a full refund.
Since North Korea shut its borders to foreign tourists in October as part of its Ebola clampdown, all foreign visitors allowed in and even senior North Korean officials returning from trips abroad have been subject to quarantine.
No cases of Ebola have been reported near North Korea but state media have suggested the disease was created by the US military as a biological weapon.
A Hongkonger who joined last year's race told the at the time that the Pyongyang marathon was unusual in the sense that runners had to repeat the same lap four times, which he suspected was a way to "control what runners saw".
