Pyongyang, August 8 (KCNA) -- Hannah Barraclough, operations manager of Koryo Tours, a UK travel company, was interviewed by KCNA on Saturday, before leaving Pyongyang.

Question: Is this the first time for you to visit the DPRK?

Answer: I've visited nearly 70 times. I'm working for a Beijing-based travel company founded in 1993. Our work is to bring foreign tourists to your country, the DPRK.

Question: The name of your company sounds meaningful. Why is your company named after Koryo?

Answer: We chose the word "Koryo" because it has a lot of meanings to the people in the DPRK. And we know that it was the name of the first unified dynasty here and also because our company runs only for tourism in the DPRK. So we wanted to choose the name very special to the Korean people.

Question: Can you tell me about tourists' impressions of the DPRK?

Answer: They are very happy to be able to come and hear for themselves the story of your country and the history of your country. The West media sometimes portray the DPRK in a different way, so it is very good to be able to come and hear for themselves and hear from the Korean people.

Question: What are tourists interested in?

Answer: They are very interested in visiting places which have a lot of meanings for the Korean people and also especially in visiting somewhere like DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) and Panmunjom because they are able to see for themselves the division of your country and see how tragic it is.

Question: How many tourists has your company brought to the DPRK from the beginning of the year?

Answer: We had around 500 tourists this year and we expect by the end of the year to have around 1 400 tourists.

Question: Will you give me your impressions of the grand gymnastic and artistic performance "Arirang"?

Answer: Very, very interesting. That is one of the highlights of their trip to the DPRK. And there is nothing else like this in the world. They find it utterly breathtaking, very, very specially prepared.

Question: What do you think your company can do for the improvement of relations between the DPRK and UK?

Answer: We are trying to do that. We have already made several films about the DPRK and we are making a film which would be finished this year. We're to develop the cultural exchange. For example, last year we brought a British women's football team to the DPRK to play football matches and next year we hope to take the DPRK team to Europe.