North Korean passport

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea passport, commonly referred to as the North Korean passport or the DPRK passport, is the passport which may be issued to North Korean citizens for international travel. Since the majority of citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea do not get opportunities to leave the country, even if they tried legally in most cases the passport application is rejected, the government passports are rarely issued.

History

The earliest passports of the Korean Peninsula were issued in 1902 by the Korean Empire, with two types, a trading passport and a travel passport. The passports have Korean Hanja text as well as English and French translations. The People's Committee of North Korea also issued "Certificate for Foreign Travel" for the same purpose, which had Korean mixed text as well as English and Russian translations.
North Korean passports were first issued in the 1950s with Korean, Russian and Chinese texts, while the current passport has Korean and English only.
In 2016, North Korea began issuing biometric passports complying to the ICAO 9303 standard.

Physical appearance

DPRK passport covers are navy blue with the emblem of North Korea emblazoned in the center. The official name of the country "조선민주주의인민공화국" and "DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA" are inscribed above the emblem, with "려권" and "PASSPORT" below.

Passport types

An ordinary passport is a single passport which, after being granted special permission, is handed out to North Koreans who visit foreign countries for official reasons, i.e., sports and academic competitions, business trips. Ordinary passports are taken back by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after returning to North Korea. The cover is navy blue.
An official passport is issued for trade and other economic bureaucrats travelling abroad. The cover is green.
A diplomatic passport is issued to high officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, and other subordinate offices of the Workers' Party of Korea. For other bureaucrats, only vice ministers or higher can receive a diplomatic passport. The cover is red.

Official and diplomatic passports must be returned and kept in the passport office, from where it can be retrieved for any further foreign travel. Ordinary passports are never issued without special permission and all holders must apply for an exit visa in order to legally leave the country.

Identity pages

A DPRK Passport includes two identity pages. The first identifies the holder, and includes the following information:

1. Passport number
2. Name in full
3. Date of birth
4. Place of birth
5. Nationality
6. Length of the passport validity
7. Expiry date
8. Issue date

The second page is for official endorsements.

Note of passport

The passport contains the following note:
Korean:
English: