North Korea has finally begun to lift its extended pandemic border controls, but when it comes to whether the country will reopen to foreign countries, the signals are decidedly mixed.

On the one hand, growing numbers of DPRK citizens can finally return home, Chinese and Russian embassy personnel have been allowed to rotate and delegations from those countries have even visited Pyongyang.

On the other hand, other countries, U.N. organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and tourism enterprises have received no clear answer on when they can return, and North Korea has closed a number of