Latest updates from the Pyongyang Marathon
There has been a lot of interest in the 2026 Pyongyang International Marathon. As the official and exclusive partners of the Pyongyang Marathon, we give an outline below of all you need to know on the Pyongyang Marathon 2026.
All of the information here is up-to-date and the official information.
The marathon is due to be held in April 2026. Since this is less than 6 months away, we want to make the latest news and some basic information clear. So, those who wish to take part can plan ahead!
Here are the latest updates for the Pyongyang International Marathon 2026.
Key Info
Stay Updated
What IS confirmed
What is NOT confirmed
Pyongyang Marathon Date
North Korean visa
Travel Packages
Travel in Pyongyang (incl. race)
Pyongyang Marathon Costs
Pyongyang Marathon Capacity
These updates repeat some information and add more to this previous blog entry on the Pyongyang International Marathon 2026 - it is worth reading both of these blogs in full.
Koryo Tours is the official exclusive partner of the Pyongyang International Marathon. There is no other official partner.
When news is confirmed and made official, it is released to Koryo Tours in the form of a document known as the ‘Official Race Bulletin’.
We then share this and start offering trips to those who want to come to Pyongyang and North Korea with us. Any claims from any other source is guesswork and unofficial. We encourage waiting for confirmed and reliable information.
We are tasked with registering all foreign amateur runners in this race, and we take our role in this very seriously. We do not issue estimations, guesses, or speculation. The information we publish is reliable and up to date.
Anyone considering a trip should look into who they are booking with and confirm who has the ability to arrange what they are offering and who has the authority to give the information needed.
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At the time of writing (17th Nov 2025) the only thing we know is that the race will be going ahead next year.
Unfortunately, many things are not yet confirmed.
This includes;
The event takes place on a Sunday in April. But, it is not yet confirmed which Sunday it will be in 2026.
Previously (in 2019 and earlier) it was almost always the second Sunday in the month. However, this is may no longer be the case, so waiting for more information and confirmation is the sensible course.
We will announce the date as soon as we can confirm it.
Be sure to be on our mailing list for the immediate announcement.
In the past the Pyongyang International Marathon date and details would be confirmed several months in advance. In 2025 it was confirmed and packages became available only one month in advance. Hopefully for the 2026 race there will be more notice given.
Is it just the race you can travel for?
No, the Pyongyang Marathon is just part of a visit there.
Any visit to the country at this time also includes a full visiting itinerary for all day, every day of the trip.
So, anyone taking a trip to the Pyongyang Marathon will not just be going to the DPRK to take part in this event, but will also do sightseeing, excursions, and see and do as much as possible when in the country.
Details on what will be possible and what packages can be offered to visitors will be announced when they are confirmed.
As regular tourism to North Korea has not yet resumed, it is not yet clear what exactly will be offered for the Pyongyang Marathon in 2026.
When tourism was active, a wide range of packages could be offered. This included group or private tours, train and plane options, a range of different hotels, and itineraries including only Pyongyang or going all around the country.
However, in 2025, all that we could offer were 5-night packages, including flights in and out from Beijing.
What will be available in 2026 depends on whether tourism is happening again, or if those attending will be officially ‘amateur athletes’, invited by the Pyongyang Marathon Committee.
If tourism resumes in time for the race, we will arrange tourist visas for participants. We will also offer expanded packages available for booking.
Tourist visas require you to submit a basic online form to us, as well as your passport copy and photo. We can then have the visas issued in Beijing before you arrive, as they are separate documents. This process is very simple and doesn’t require you to hand over your passport at any time.
If tourism has not resumed, then (as with the race in 2025) visas will be what is called ‘delegation visas’.
This means we need the same application documents, but we also will need your passport and a completed paper form when we meet in Beijing for a briefing the day before the trip.
We will then have the DPRK visa issued in the passport in Beijing that day and hand back the passport that evening.
At present, this is also not confirmed. This is largely because it depends on what kind of visas and packages can be offered.
As a rough guideline -
In 2019, when tourism was active tours could be from 2 nights to 2+ weeks, and from 600 – 3000+ EUR per person.
In 2025 when only delegation visas were possible and a smaller number of people could be accepted the only trips that could be offered were all-inclusive 5 night packages including flights in and out from/to Beijing and cost 2190 EUR per person.
It is expected that if delegation visas are what is used again then the package price may increase a little.
However, all these details remain to be confirmed.
In 2019 and earlier, the capacity of the Pyongyang Marathon was much higher than in 2025.
Previously there were more flights, daily passenger trains from Beijing and Dandong, various options to stay in the country longer or shorter times. Plus, there were over a dozen hotels in Pyongyang alone that we could use.
Then there was space for as many people as could sign up.
For example, in 2019, around a thousand foreign amateur runners took part in the Pyongyang Marathon.
In 2025 however there was no operating passenger train from China (this has still not resumed), limited flights, itineraries limited to Pyongyang. Plus, there was only one hotel in the DPRK capital that could be used.
This, combined with the very late confirmation of the event, meant that only 200 people could take this trip.
For 2026 we believe that more hotels will be available, and possibly more in terms of itinerary, and flight options. So we cannot confirm yet what the capacity will be, but when this is known it will of course be announced.
We fully understand that the information above is tantalising but not yet complete.
At Koryo Tours we know that many readers will be eager to book and secure their place, and to make their travel arrangements. We sincerely hope to be able to bring you confirmation as soon as possible and once we have the details we will not delay to publish them.
Be sure to join our mailing list for email news, and we also have a WhatsApp group specifically for discussion and news about the Pyongyang International Marathon that you can be a part of.
We look forward to updating you further and taking you to North Korea to be a part of this amazing adventure!
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