North Korea lifts Ebola travel restriction

North Korea is lifting severe restrictions on foreign travel it imposed last year to keep the Ebola virus from crossing its borders.

The already isolated country virtually closed its borders to foreigners last October, halting all non-essential visas and requiring those few foreigners allowed in to undergo three weeks of quarantine. The rules applied to diplomats, NGO workers and even senior North Korean officials returning from overseas trips.

One tour company that takes tourists into North Korea, Uri Tours, said on its website that the borders were open and that that ban on travel due to Ebola fears had been lifted on Monday.

North Korean media had suggested the Ebola virus was created by the US military for use as a biological weapon.