Since August, indicators of a possible post-COVID-19 border normalization have continued to grow in North Korea. Dozens of Air Koryo flights have shuttled DPRK citizens back to their homeland from Beijing and Vladivostok, trains have been spotted crossing the border to Sinuiju, and working-level delegations from China and Russia have paid multiple visits. 

But for those without passports from the DPRK, China or Russia, very little has changed. 

Now, three months since the first Air Koryo aircraft took North Korean citizens home, signals are decidedly mixed when it comes to a full border normalization in