CHANGCHUN - Northeast China's Jilin province on Saturday launched a group tour that will allow tourists to travel around the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) by train, local authorities said Sunday.

A group of 103 Chinese tourists have already arrived at the DPRK's city of Namyang, which is separated from east Jilin's city of Tumen by a river, according to the Tumen city government.

The tour group will travel by train to visit Mount Chilbo and the city of Chongjin in Hamgyong, visit hot spring spas in Kyongsong county, taste local delicacies and check out performances over the course of three days and four nights.

The train tour, the first of its kind offered by Jilin, is part of the province's efforts to promote cultural exchanges with the DPRK. The province launched a one-day walking tour of Namyang in May 2008.

China decided to grant approved outbound destination status to the DPRK in Sept 2008. The first Chinese group tour to the DPRK took place on April 12, 2010.