Beijing: China is set to restart its first passenger train service to North Korea in six years, marking a gradual reopening of cross border travel between the two neighbouring countries after long pandemic restrictions.
The train is scheduled to depart from Beijing on March 12 and travel to the North Korean capital Pyongyang. The journey will take more than 24 hours and will pass through the Chinese border city of Dandong before entering North Korea.
Passenger train services between the two countries were suspended in early 2020 when North Korea closed its borders to prevent the spread of COVID 19. Since then, travel between the two countries had remained extremely limited, although some cargo services were later restored.
According to railway authorities, the Beijing to Pyongyang service will run four times a week. Trains will operate on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Another shorter route between Dandong and Pyongyang is also expected to run daily.
Tickets for the first train quickly sold out, showing strong interest from travellers. However, travel remains limited mainly to people holding business visas, while tourist travel is still tightly controlled.
North Korea has only slowly reopened its borders after the pandemic. In recent years, the country allowed a small number of Russian tourist groups to visit, but Chinese tourism has not fully resumed yet.
Analysts say the resumption of the train service is significant because China remains North Korea’s largest trading partner and one of its closest political allies. Restoring the railway link could help revive trade, business contacts and diplomatic exchanges that were disrupted during the years of border closure.
The Beijing to Pyongyang railway service has operated for decades and has long been one of the most important land transport connections between the two countries. Its reopening is seen as another step in North Korea’s gradual return to limited international engagement after years of isolation.