N Korea, China resume train service after six year gap

The first passenger train from Beijing to North Korea’s capital Pyongyang in six years sold out before its departure on March 12, the official ticket office in Beijing said.

The resumption of rail service, suspended since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, revives the critical transportation link between largely isolated North Korea and its primary economic ally.

The trip tickets, which are limited to passengers with business visas, were purchased by entrepreneurs, government officials and journalists, according to the Beijing ticket office.

Tickets were still available for the next ceremony, scheduled for March 18.

Beijing-Pyongyang trains will run four times a week in both directions on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, while Dandong-Pyongyang trains will run every day, China’s railway authority said in an announcement.

The resumption from March 12 will “further promote China-North Korea travel, trade and economic cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges to enhance mutual prosperity and friendship,” the statement said.

North Korea remains closed to most foreign tourism, with limited exceptions for Russian tour groups under limited regulations, according to travel agencies that organize trips to the country.

Before the outbreak, Chinese visitors made up the largest share of foreign tourists coming to North Korea, the agencies said.

North Korea has canceled next month’s Pyongyang Marathon for unspecified reasons, tour organizers said Monday.

The race is one of the few events open to international participants in the isolated state.