For the first time in over five years, foreign tourists can now visit North Korea, just in time for late leader Kim Jong Il's birthday celebrations.

The number of North Korean defectors who arrived in South Korea reached 236 in 2024, up by 20.4 percent compared to the previous year, according to the Unification Ministry on Tuesday.

A neon-stacked building in Yanji, a Chinese city on the North Korean border, brings internet culture to life, drawing waves of tourists eager to see the spectacle in person.