CNN 10｜North Korea reopens to tourists, first AI art auction

COY WIRE, CNN 10 ANCHOR:
We start in North Korea, the reclusive state now set to let in tourists for the first time in five years. North Korea says the city of Rason, a remote economic zone in the north of the country, will be the first post- pandemic tourist destination open to Western tourists.

The country's capital, Pyongyang, is still closed to foreign visitors. Tourism has always been a highly restricted operation within the hermit kingdom, which sealed its borders in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now, Beijing tour operator Koryo Tours recently announced bookings would reopen with organized tours to Rason. As part of North Korea's special economic zone, Rason has operated differently than other places in the country as a testing ground for new economic policies. The city pioneered the country's first mobile network and card payment system.

In a controlled visit to the city, visitors will see locations like factories, schools, art galleries, even a bank where they can open a North Korean bank account. The first tours are set to start on February 12th, around one of North Korea's biggest national holidays. Celebrations and parades are planned for the birthday of the country's late leader, Kim Jong-il.

Bookings are open to visitors from all countries except for the United States and South Korea. Most tourists in North Korea have been from China and Russia. CNN's Will Ripley gives us a look at what the visitors can expect.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even by North Korean standards, Rason is not exactly a tourism hotspot. A remote economic zone closer to China and Russia than the capital Pyongyang.

Rason is known for its shoe factory and banking system. There's also a textile factory and sea cucumber breeding farm. A typical workday includes outdoor exercise, weather permitting. In almost any other place, tourists probably wouldn't be lining up for the chance to open a bank account. But this is North Korea. The secret state has chosen Rason as its first post- pandemic destination for Western tourists, allegedly.

SIMON COCKERELL, GM, KORYO TOURS: Will it happen next week? Entirely possible. But will it be delayed? Entirely possible. I mean, --

RIPLEY (voice-over): Longtime tour operator Simon Cockerell knows there are no guarantees when it comes to North Korea.

Simon's made nearly 200 trips. He says traveling there is not for everyone.

COCKERELL: You're choosing a highly restrictive time in a very complicated country on a trip that your family will be worried about.

RIPLEY (voice-over): And some say for good reason. American college student Otto Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor, accused of stealing a propaganda poster from his Pyongyang hotel. After 17 months in detention, he returned home in a persistent vegetative state and died days later.

The State Department has banned U.S. tourists from visiting North Korea ever since.

RIPLEY (on camera): What's the number one thing you tell people not to do when they visit North Korea?

COCKERELL: Don't proselytize religiously. It's illegal. Don't break any law, regardless of whether you agree with it or not. Simple as that.

WIRE: Now to a first of its kind in the art world, Fine Arts Auction House Christie's is holding the first art auction devoted entirely to dozens of pieces created with the help of artificial intelligence. But while some see the auction as a next step for technology in the art world, many artists in the industry who claim their work was used to train AI models without credit are calling for it to be cancelled. CNN's Lynda Kinkade takes us inside Christie's New York galleries to learn more.

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Striking and thought- provoking, it's not unusual for art to be critiqued, pondered, and sold to the highest bidder. But an upcoming auction at Christie's New York is pushing the boundaries of the art world, featuring only works created with artificial intelligence. The art sale, called augmented intelligence, consists of about 30 pieces that have been created or enhanced using AI tools, which Christie's says is a sign of the times.

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