Train service between Moscow and North Korea's Pyongyang to resume in June, says Russia
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Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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MOSCOW - Russia and North Korea plan to restart a direct passenger train service between Moscow and the North Korean capital Pyongyang this month for the first time since 2020, Russia's state-owned rail monopoly said on June 9.
Russian Railways said it had agreed with North Korea's railways ministry to resume a twice-monthly service between the two capitals on June 17, a journey it said took eight days and which, at over 10,000km, was the longest direct rail journey in the world.
Another service between Pyongyang and Khabarovsk, a Russian city close to China's north-eastern border, will restart two days later.
The services will be operated by Korean State Railway, the state operator, and in the case of the Moscow-Pyongyang route will see a North Korean passenger railcar hitched to the regular Moscow-Vladivostok service and then re-attached to another train.
Passenger rail traffic between Russia and North Korea was suspended in February 2020 at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Moscow and Pyongyang have since ratcheted up cooperation, including in the military sphere since President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty in 2024.
North Korea confirmed in late April that it had sent more than 10,000 troops and weapons to Russia
The two countries already operate a passenger rail service between Vladivostok in Russia's Far East and Rason, a North Korean port city.
The nations are also linked by freight rail networks, although Russia does not disclose the size of the cargo traffic. REUTERS
