North Korea said on Sunday that foreign elite runners arrived to take part in the first Pyongyang Marathon in six years.

Athletes from China, Romania and other countries arrived in North Korea to participate in the event, state media KCNA news agency reported on Sunday.

Video footage from KCNA showed hundreds of runners taking off from the stadium track starting point.

The marathon is part of celebrations marking the birth of North Korea's founding leader Kim Il Sung in 1912 and is the largest international sporting event in North Korea.

The race offers a rare opportunity for visitors to run through the streets of the country.

The marathon course winds through central Pyongyang, passing key landmarks and heading out into the countryside just outside of the city centre, before returning back to the stadium.

The last edition of the Pyongyang Marathon was held in 2019 before the pandemic, during which the state sealed its borders in an effort to contain the virus. (Agencies)