China to resume group tours to S. Korea

▲ In this file photo, a tour guide waits for Chinese group travelers with a welcome sign at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on March 3, 2017. (Yonhap)

S Korea-China-tour

China to resume group tours to S. Korea

BEIJING, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- China's tourism authorities said Thursday they have decided to lift the ban on group tours to South Korea, ending a six-year hiatus caused by frayed relations following the deployment of a U.S. defense system to the South.

Earlier in the day, the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced it will allow Chinese group tours to 78 countries, including South Korea, the United States and Japan.

In January and March, China removed the group ban on some 60 countries in line with its eased coronavirus policy, but South Korea was excluded.

Chinese group tours to South Korea have virtually been halted since 2017 amid a bilateral rift over the deployment of the U.S. defense shield, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), which Beijing sees as a security threat.

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