# North Korea passport to South Korea: Visa required

Current access classification: **Visa required** — Traditional visa required before travel.

Access data checked August 24, 2026. Evidence status: **official evidence collected**.

This page concerns ordinary short visits unless an official source states otherwise. Authorities apply the current rule, and individual circumstances can change the applicable treatment.

## Evidence timeline

- **Current official route — Other ordinary adult visitor passports require a Korean visa** (Visa required)
  For the listed ordinary passports, a visitor must obtain a Korean visa before standard short entry because the current official entry guide expressly says countries absent from the K-ETA eligibility list must apply for a visa.
  - This is the ordinary adult-passport, standard short-visitor baseline; it does not establish work, study, residence, diplomatic, official, United Nations, crew, ABTC, cruise, or other special-document treatment.
  - The cited April 2026 Ministry of Foreign Affairs entry guide ties the complement to absence from the live K-ETA eligibility list and expressly directs an unlisted country to apply for a visa.
  - The result is not inferred from portal silence: the same official guide expressly identifies narrow exceptions for Korean nationals, age groups, registered foreigners, valid-visa holders, transfer or transit routes, and other special categories.
  - The guide separately directs readers to the Jeju visa-free and transfer-passenger schemes. Those itinerary- or destination-specific exceptions do not establish an unconditional ordinary-passport classification for Korea as a whole.
  - The temporary K-ETA exemption remains effective through 31 December 2026 (KST) for its separately listed passports; no code in this policy is in the current K-ETA eligibility or temporary-exemption groups.
  Official sources:
  - [Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Malaysia, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Things to know before entering Korea](https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/my-en/brd/m_21504/view.do?locale=en&page=1&seq=46)
  - [Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice: K-ETA eligible countries and applicants](https://www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/guide/viewetaalification.do?locale=EN)
  - [Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice: Extension of the temporary K-ETA exemption](https://www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/board/viewboarddetail.do?bbsSn=299707&locale=EN)
  - [Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Switzerland: Temporary K-ETA exemption list through 2026](https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ch-en/brd/m_23429/view.do?seq=22)
  - [Korea Immigration Service, Ministry of Justice: K-ETA FAQ: Who is eligible for the application exemption?](https://www.k-eta.go.kr/portal/board/viewboardlist.do?tmpltNm=faq2&locale=EN)

## Useful links

- [HTML evidence page](https://multipassrank.com/north-korea-south-korea-visa)
- [North Korea passport access](https://multipassrank.com/passport/north-korea)
- [All passport requirements for South Korea](https://multipassrank.com/destination/south-korea)
- [Dataset license](https://multipassrank.com/data-license)