North Korea offers sightseeing flights

North Korea hopes to use sightseeing flights over Pyongyang to increase the tourism lure of the country.

A man is dwarfed against the 105-storey Ryuryong hotel as he walks along the Pothong River in Pyongyang. (AAP) Source: AAP

Tourists in North Korea can now take sightseeing flights over the capital, Pyongyang, according to the country's National Tourism Administration.

NTA officials said helicopters will be used as well as airplanes from the state-run Air Koryo with up to 40 seats.

Flights will last either 30 or 60 minutes and can be booked on site directly, or through the North Korean tourism agency KITC and other travel agencies, Ri Yong Bom from the North Korean embassy in Berlin said.

North Korea hopes to use the sightseeing flights to increase the tourism attractiveness of the country.

Many Europeans regard North Korea as an exotic destination, as the country has been isolated for so many years.