North Korea and China are said to be preparing to launch a new tourism program for Chinese visitors to tour sites across their border. 
 
Under the program, Chinese tourists will cross the Amnok River, also called the Yalu River in China, from Dandong by boat or passing through Dandong customs in their cars to travel to the North's city of Sinuiju, carrying only their identification cards.

A North Korean official said last month, China and North Korea reached an agreement on expanding cross-border tourism at the North’s request when China’s Vice Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin visited Pyongyang. The new tour program is likely to launch in the beginning or middle of next year.
 
The number of Chinese tourists that traveled to Sinuiju by passing through Dandong has topped 40-thousand so far this year, surpassing the 35-thousand posted in 2011. Cross-border Chinese tourists are emerging as a new means for the North to earn currency in the face of international sanctions.

Sinuiju is a North Korean city located across from Dandong at the mouth of the Amnok River, which forms part of the border between North Korea and China.

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