Editor’s note: This article is the second in a two-part series looking at the status of foreign embassies, international organizations and other foreign groups in the DPRK after years of pandemic restrictions. Part one can be found here.

Nearly five years since North Korea slammed its borders shut due to the COVID-19, a diverse range of foreign organizations cautiously seeks to return and resume operations in the secretive state. But locally staffed offices of U.N. agencies technically remain active, not a single foreign resident staffer from these organizations has stepped foot in the country since