Malaysia to North Korea visa requirements

Malaysian citizens are banned by their own government from travelling to North Korea, and even setting that aside, the DPRK never grants independent tourist visas. There is no visa-free or visa-on-arrival channel. Practically, this route is closed for Malaysian ordinary passport holders. Two separate barriers apply to a Malaysia (MY) ordinary passport holder seeking to visit North Korea (KP/DPRK) for tourism. First, the Government of Malaysia, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wisma Putra/KLN), imposed a full travel ban on all Malaysian citizens travelling to the DPRK on 28 September 2017, following the assassination of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. That ban applies regardless of purpose of travel and, because Malaysia does not recognise dual citizenship, it applies even to Malaysians who hold a second passport. The ban remains in force as of 2026 and is to be reviewed only once relations normalise; North Korea severed diplomatic ties with Malaysia in March 2021, so there is currently no DPRK embassy or consular service in Malaysia and no review has taken place. Second, even absent the ban, North Korea has no visa-free, visa-on-arrival, eVisa or ETA scheme for any tourist nationality. All tourists must travel on a pre-arranged guided tour booked through a DPRK-authorised tour operator, who applies for the visa (issued as a separate tourist card, not stamped in the passport) with the authorities in Pyongyang weeks in advance. The correct, conservative verdict is therefore visa-required, with the overriding caveat that the trip is presently prohibited by Malaysian law and not bookable in practice. Note also that as of 2024-2026, the DPRK has only partially reopened to foreign tourism after its COVID-era closure, with limited regions and tours available. Travellers should treat this route as effectively closed until the Malaysian travel ban is lifted and full DPRK tourism resumes.