🇰🇵 North Korea
Skip Jan–Dec.
When to go
North Korea, month by month
Updated August 2026 · How we decide →
Typical weather
What Pyongyang is usually like
What a typical day looks like, hour by hour: 8am when you get up, 2pm in the afternoon, 8pm when you are out in the evening — on North Korea’s own clock, at Pyongyang. Ten-year averages (2011–2020) measured at the capital, so this is Pyongyang, not the whole of North Korea, and a mountain or a coast a few hours away can be nothing like it. Averages, not a forecast: a typical January rather than any particular one.
| ✕January, avoid | -7.4°C | -0.5°C | -4.5°C | 13 mm | 9h 44m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✕February, avoid | -4.1°C | 2.8°C | -1.6°C | 23 mm | 10h 44m |
| ✕March, avoid | 2.7°C | 9.9°C | 4.6°C | 20 mm | 11h 54m |
| ✕April, avoid | 10.4°C | 17°C | 11.5°C | 50 mm | 13h 12m |
| ✕May, avoid | 17.2°C | 23.4°C | 17.6°C | 96 mm | 14h 18m |
| ✕June, avoid | 21.6°C | 27°C | 22.1°C | 118 mm | 14h 54m |
| ✕July, avoid | 24.5°C | 28.5°C | 25°C | 268 mm | 14h 39m |
| ✕August, avoid | 24.7°C | 29.2°C | 25.2°C | 209 mm | 13h 43m |
| ✕September, avoid | 18.9°C | 25.4°C | 19.8°C | 77 mm | 12h 29m |
| ✕October, avoid | 11.3°C | 19.1°C | 12.8°C | 36 mm | 11h 14m |
| ✕November, avoid | 3.3°C | 9.8°C | 5.2°C | 57 mm | 10h 04m |
| ✕December, avoid | -5.5°C | 0.7°C | -3.2°C | 25 mm | 9h 27m |
Twelve months in order. Tap any heading to sort by it — the driest month, the longest day, the afternoon closest to the one you like.
The colour is the month, not the weather: ✕ avoid.
Temperature and rainfall are ERA5. Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of this information. Daylight: MET Norway, measured on the 15th of each month — the sun does not change, so that figure is exact rather than an average. Rainfall is a monthly total; daylight is sunset minus sunrise.
Right now
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Not currently possible or advisable.
Getting in, and staying safe
Visas, entry rules and health — the official pages
Entry rules, visa requirements, vaccinations and safety advice for North Korea all live on the pages below. Each one goes straight to North Korea, not to a search box.
We link to official sources and stop there. We do not check, summarise, rank or verify them — always read the official page itself before you travel, and read the one for your own nationality. We are an independent site with no government connection.
At a glance
The practical bits
| Plug types | A, C, F |
|---|---|
| Voltage | 110/220V |
| Emergency numbers * | Not reliably available — ask your accommodation on arrival |
| Currency | North Korean won (KPW ₩) |
| Language | Korean |
| Dialling code | +850 |
| Driving | On the right |
| Coastline | 2,495 km of coastline |
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See North Korea on Google Maps ↗
* Emergency numbers can change, and can vary by region within a country. Always confirm with your accommodation or the nearest embassy before you travel.
Worth knowing
Five things that hold almost everywhere
- Grab (or the local equivalent) beats street taxis in most of Asia — and even where you don't use it, the app price tells you what's fair.
- ATMs: withdraw big and rarely, always in the local currency, and always decline the machine's kind offer to charge your card in pounds — that 'service' costs 3–6%.
- eSIM before you land (Airalo or similar) so you're online at arrivals; swap to a local SIM if you're staying weeks.
- Scooters anywhere: without the right licence category your travel insurance is void. That's the whole conversation.
- Save the local emergency number on day one, and know which private hospital expats use in your city — ask your host the day you arrive.
General travel habits, not advice specific to North Korea. Rules, prices and fees change — check anything that matters before you rely on it.