Chinese tourists can travel to North Korea without a passport or visa for as little as $7.50 after tour agencies in Dandong launched a new half-day tour to Sinuiju on July 9.

More than 450 Chinese tourists made the trip on the first day, travelling by bus across the Yalu River bridge that links the two border cities, reported the Yalu River Evening News, a state-run newspaper in Dandong.

City Mayor Shi Jian led a meeting of police, customs and travel agency personnel at the border registration processing office that issues the paperwork on July 6, ahead of the