Arabic version: استئناف خدمات القطارات بين الصين وكوريا الشمالية بعد توقف بسبب الجائحة

Passenger train services between China and North Korea will resume on Thursday, reviving a transport link that was shuttered for six years due to the pandemic. China’s rail operator announced that trains will operate four times a week between Beijing and Pyongyang, with daily services from the Chinese border city of Dandong to the North Korean capital.

According to BBC News, the resumption of these services is seen as a significant step in strengthening the ties between the two nations. While China has completely reopened, North Korea has been doing so slowly, allowing a limited number of tourists to enter from 2024.

The Beijing-Pyongyang service will permit international travelers on certain train carriages, but tickets are currently unavailable for businessmen or tourists. Only individuals with valid visas, which include Chinese citizens working or studying in North Korea, can purchase tickets.

Tickets for the first train departing on Thursday have sold out, with buyers including entrepreneurs, government officials, and reporters. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun emphasized the importance of maintaining regular passenger train services for fostering exchanges between the two countries.

Earlier this week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed optimism in a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that cooperation between their countries would grow closer “on their common path to advance the socialist cause”. Before the pandemic, Chinese tourists constituted a significant portion of North Korea’s foreign visitors, and the country is now working on new tourism projects to revive this sector.