Pyongyang: North Korea and China resumed an international passenger train service linking their capitals Thursday for the first time in six years, reviving cross-border exchanges between the two nations. The resumption marks the first cross-border passenger train service between the two countries since operations were suspended in 2020 following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Yonhap News Agency, a nine-car train traveling from Pyongyang to Beijing was seen passing over the Amnok River bridge, also known as the Yalu River bridge, connecting North Korea's Sinuiju and China's Dandong, at around 4:23 p.m. Some train cars had closed curtains, while passengers were visible in others. The train that departed Pyongyang at 10:26 a.m. is scheduled to stop at Dandong, a Chinese border city, before arriving in Beijing at 8:40 a.m. Friday. Another passenger train, K27, from Beijing to Pyongyang departed at 5:26 p.m. Thursday. It stops in Tianjin, Shanhaiguan, Shenyang, and Dandong, crosses into North Korea through Sinuiju, and is scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang at 6:07 p.m. Friday.
The journey between Beijing and Pyongyang takes about 25 hours and offers two types of sleeper cars -- six-berth and four-berth compartments -- with fares starting at more than 1,000 Chinese yuan (US$145.64), an official from the China State Railway Group told Yonhap News Agency. Passenger trains between Pyongyang and Beijing operate four times a week in both directions -- on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, the railway said.
The passenger train service, which began in 1954, has long been regarded as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. China is North Korea's largest trading partner and economic benefactor. Last year, North Korea resumed direct flight and train services between Pyongyang and Moscow, Russia's capital. The reopening of the cross-border rail services comes as the two countries appear to be aligning more closely as they seek to repair relations frayed by North Korea's military cooperation with Russia, amid speculation that the United States may seek to reengage Pyongyang for talks.
In September last year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing for the first time in six years and agreed to deepen economic cooperation and strategic communication. The latest move also comes as Pyongyang seeks to develop tourism into a new industry to promote economic growth. During a key congress of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea last month, Kim vowed to foster tourism as a new growth sector, in what is seen as an apparent effort to earn much-needed foreign currency amid international sanctions.