The group entered the country through China on their trip to Rason in the far northeast — more than 500 miles from the capital city of Pyongyang, which once occasionally welcomed occasional tourism groups, albeit under strict supervision and no real freedom of movement.

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson arrived at the southern port city of Busan in South Korea on Sunday as a show of force against North Korea, South Korea's navy said. It is the first U.S. aircraft carrier to dock at a South Korean port since U.

A U.S. aircraft carrier has arrived in South Korea in a show of force, days after North Korea test-launched cruise missiles to demonstrate its counterattack capabilities.