BEIJING (Kyodo) -- Amateur runners from various countries on Thursday departed Beijing for Pyongyang to attend an upcoming international marathon event to be held in the North Korean capital for the first time in about six years.

Applications for Sunday's event have been filed from some 45 countries including Britain, Germany, Canada, China and Iran, according to Beijing-based Koryo Tours, the official travel agency for the marathon. No Japanese citizen will take part, it added.

A male runner from Britain said before boarding a flight to Pyongyang at a Beijing airport that it will be his 13th visit to North Korea and that he is excited to participate in the marathon that will likely draw about 200 foreigners.

The sporting event, which has been open to amateur runners since 2014, is divided into a full 42.195-kilometer marathon, a half marathon, and 10-km and 5-km runs, according to Koryo Tours.

It was last held in 2019 before North Korea shut its borders in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before then, it was held annually.

The marathon course includes Kim Il Sung Stadium and the streets of Pyongyang, the tour agency said. A South Korean government source said participants this year will run near a general hospital recently constructed in the capital.

A second batch of marathon participants is scheduled to leave Beijing for Pyongyang possibly on Saturday.