Originally Posted by
MSPeconomist
This would make me very nervous.
When I had the 72 hour TWOV issue with DL at NRT, supposedly my record was already noted that no visa was required. I confirmed this with the DM line several times. Having something on your PNR does nothing if a DL employee is convinced that you cannot go to China without a visa. Having a TIMATIC printout doesn't help either.
IIRC the technical requirement is that for TWOV you must have tickets and travel documents for the next destination. A letter stating that the visa has been approved is not equivalent to having the visa for this rule. The visa is the required travel document, combined with your passport.
I know, I've been concerned about that also, but I've been told, repeatedly, by the DPRK tour organizer that it won't be a problem and that they have many people each year enter PEK under TWOV with just a scan of the letter from the DPRK Embassy that the visa is granted and will be issued in Beijing.
I think that at PEK it won't be a problem (though may take some more time, and it may be an issue with the DL flight from NRT arriving at 10pm that PEK immigration officers won't be able to call the DPRK Embassy or Air Koryo to verify the visa issuance or on the onward flights, but in the end I think it should work out), it is also the part with DL that I am the most concerned about. I once even had DL staff at NRT keep talking excitedly in Japanese and asking me for a Korea (S. Korea) visa on a flight to PUS (that was before DL cancelled it), when that is obviously not needed and I have a bunch of previous Korea entry/exit stamps in my passport.