This image is captured from Koryo Tours' website, Feb. 3. Yonhap

A Chinese tour agency specializing in North Korean tours has opened bookings for travel programs to North Korea's northeastern city of Rason, scheduled for February through April, its website showed Monday.

The "Rason Kim Jong-il Birthday Tour" is scheduled to depart on Feb. 12, as well as in March and April, according to the website of Koryo Tours.

This month's tour, priced at 706 euros ($722.03), includes four nights in Rason and two nights in China's Yanji, as well as visits to factories, markets and other tourist destinations in Rason and a Taekwondo show.

The birthday of late former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il falls on Feb. 16, a national holiday in North Korea, known as the Day of the Shining Star.

In a related notice, the agency said the programs for February, March and April are "not yet confirmed" as it awaits further information on the border opening date in Rason.

North Korea appears set to accept Chinese travelers to Rason, as another China-based firm, Young Pioneer Tours, has begun accepting applications for a tour to Rason scheduled for early March.

The country is also scheduled to open the new Kalma tourist zone along the east coast for service in June, with expectations that it may seek to attract foreign tourists as a way of earning foreign currency amid U.N. sanctions. (Yonhap)