{"id":8123,"date":"2026-05-07T23:41:41","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T23:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/8123\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T23:41:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T23:41:41","slug":"beijing-pyongyang-passenger-train-service-set-to-resume-after-nearly-six-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/8123\/","title":{"rendered":"Beijing-Pyongyang passenger train service set to resume after nearly six years"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Notice<\/a>A notice from China State Railway Group’s International Cooperation Department announces the resumption of China-North Korea international passenger rail service. Photo: Daily NK<\/p>\n

North Korea and China<\/a> are set to resume direct passenger rail service between Beijing and Pyongyang<\/a> on March 12, ending a suspension of nearly six years that began when Pyongyang sealed its borders in January 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

According to a Daily NK source with knowledge of cross-border transport arrangements, the Beijing-Pyongyang and Dandong-Pyongyang passenger rail lines will resume service starting March 12. The source said Chinese<\/a> international travel agencies received formal notification of the resumption on the morning of March 9, with departure scheduled for 5:25 p.m. on March 12.<\/p>\n

China State Railway Group\u2019s International Cooperation Department issued a notice confirming that passenger rail service between China and North Korea would restart on that date, following coordination with the Korean State Railway. The notice was distributed to 15 government<\/a> agencies, including the Asian Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Port<\/a> Supervision Division of the General Administration of Customs, and the border<\/a> inspection<\/a> management division of the National Immigration Administration. Schedules and train configurations are to be arranged in accordance with agreed terms.<\/p>\n

Tourism prospects and diplomatic signals<\/p>\n

The source noted that the resumption carries broader implications. \u201cThe notice came through with a scheduled departure time, and if service actually restarts on that basis, there is a strong likelihood that tourism<\/a> to North Korea will resume before long,\u201d the source said.<\/p>\n

North Korea\u2019s General Bureau of Tourism had published an international rail timetable connecting Beijing and Pyongyang on its official tourism website in July last year, alongside a Pyongyang-Shanghai flight schedule. At the time, the postings prompted speculation about a potential reopening of cross-border travel, but no actual train service materialized.<\/p>\n

Analysts see the latest development as a signal that Pyongyang is moving to normalize people-to-people exchanges<\/a> with China that have been effectively frozen since the pandemic. With international sanctions<\/a> continuing to restrict North Korea\u2019s access to foreign currency<\/a>, some observers view the push to revive the tourism industry as a reflection of the authorities\u2019 determination to open a lawful channel for earning hard currency.<\/p>\n

The source cautioned that the full scope and timeline of North Korea\u2019s openness to foreign visitors remains unclear. \u201cThe direction of external opening has not yet been clearly defined,\u201d the source said, adding that the significance of the move by both countries amid the current complex international situation is drawing close attention.<\/p>\n

Whether the passenger rail resumption will translate into a broader expansion of cross-border people-to-people ties remains to be seen. Observers are watching closely for signs that the historically close relationship between Pyongyang and Beijing is returning to a footing of substantive cooperation after a period of relative distance during North Korea\u2019s deepening alignment with Russia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Separately, the source said the notifications sent to Chinese travel agencies also included word that the Pyongyang International Marathon, originally scheduled for early April, has been canceled.<\/p>\n

Read in Korean<\/a><\/p>\n

Reporting from inside North Korea<\/p>\n

\n Daily NK operates networks of sources inside North Korea who document events in real-time and transmit information<\/a> through secure channels. Unlike reporting based on state media<\/a>, satellite<\/a> imagery, or defector<\/a> accounts from years past, our journalism comes directly from people currently living under the regime. We verify reports through multiple independent sources and cross-reference details before publication.\n <\/p>\n

\n Our sources remain anonymous because contact with foreign media is treated as a capital<\/a> offense in North Korea \u2014 discovery means imprisonment or execution. This network-based approach allows Daily NK to report<\/a> on developments other outlets cannot access: market<\/a> trends, policy implementation, public sentiment, and daily realities that never appear in official narratives.\n <\/p>\n

\n Maintaining these secure communication channels and protecting source identities requires specialized protocols and constant vigilance. Daily NK serves as a bridge<\/a> between North Koreans and the outside world, documenting what\u2019s happening inside one of the world\u2019s most closed societies.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A notice from China State Railway Group’s International Cooperation Department announces the resumption of China-North Korea international passenger…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8124,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[134,6366,6367,2339,119,2595,129,5912],"class_list":{"0":"post-8123","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pyongyang","8":"tag-china","9":"tag-covid-19","10":"tag-dandong","11":"tag-dprk","12":"tag-economy","13":"tag-foreign-currency","14":"tag-pyongyang","15":"tag-sanctions"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/korea\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}