North Korea has closed a casino in a free trade zone near its shared border with China.

A Chinese Internet newspaper, quoting North Korea's Shin Munhwa newspaper, said the Emperor Casino in the North's Rason city closed down on Saturday, five years after its opening.

The newspaper said the closing down of the casino was a result of China’s ongoing efforts to ban gambling.

The Yenben Korean Autonomous Prefecture in China near Rason city in the North had ordered regional travel agencies last week to eliminate travel packages that arrange tour gambling and to halt related advertisements.